The Lost Civilization: Driven
by Thomas A. Hawk
Summary: An offshoot of dashboardgecko's "The Lost Civilization". After surviving the devastation of his old world and becoming separated from his friends, a new member of the Lost awakens in the unfamiliar world of hunters and resolves to reunite with those he holds dear. His story will run parallel, and perhaps even interlink, with a much grander tale. 3/3U Canonical with TLC!
1. Chapter 1

**The Lost Civilization: Driven**

 **By: Thomas A. Hawk**

 **Edited by: dashboardgecko**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Monster Hunter. The rights of the game belong entirely to Capcom. This is a fanwork taking place in the setting of The Lost Civilization, another fanwork of the Monster Hunter games. The world and its characters, aside from those newly created for the sake of this story, are property of dashboardgecko.**

* * *

Chapter 1: The Fall

"See anything inside that gun store? Looks clear to me."

"Let's check it from the side, too. Last time you thought we were clear, those little velociraptor things almost had us for lunch."

"I'll check around back. Hopefully there aren't any scavengers in there… Keep the car up here, and I'll signal from the front if we're good."

Lloyd sighed and nodded to his addresser before she took off silently towards the building, making sure to keep low to the ground and use the abandoned vehicles in the road as cover. That was his girlfriend, Fala; also, mostly the reason he and his friend Zack were still alive. A few weeks before, their entire world had completely changed with the arrival of several… _things._ They looked like dinosaurs, but others appeared to be dragons. It was the stuff of fantasy, something no one had ever believed possible. And there wasn't any warning, either; they were just _there._

The first sighting of the creatures was made light of in the news, with some thinking it was some psycho trying to get attention or the local museum playing a prank of the city. But then, they found the bodies. Two people, a man and a women, practically torn to shreds by a pack of reddish-purple carnivores. No one had ever seen something like this before, no one had expected it.

And that was why their civilization fell.

It only took about a day before even bigger beasts began to appear, creatures bigger than elephants with hides like armor. Guns were barely effective against them; they hardly worked on anything bigger than a person unless one landed a headshot. One beast in particular, this giant black dragon, was probably the fiercest of them all. Lloyd had seen it demolish a tank the military brought in to combat the creature when he, Zack, and Fala were making their escape from Bronzeton City.

In the end, not even the military could keep up with these beasts, and people were being slaughtered left and right. The closest army base had been burned to the ground, and any forceful opposition to the beasts was brutally stamped into the dust. Now, the only people left were on their own. No law, no government, no idea what they would do next. Some had gone mad from it all, while others tried to band together and fight back against the beasts however they could. More still took this as an opportunity to live 'freely'; they fell to anarchy and living however they chose to, going as far as attacking other survivors and stealing their supplies. As for the rest… Some people just plain vanished without a trace.

It was utter chaos. That was all Lloyd could describe it as. He was fortunate to have two people he could trust with him, and their group had successfully made it through almost three cities now, heading westward. Rumor was that the army had set up a successful barricade and were helping any who came to it get to safety, but that was at the state border, almost three hundred miles away from where they lived. So, the three packed up everything they could and escaped in Lloyd's white pickup truck.

Part of the reason they had been able to survive was because of their own experiences. Fala was a hunter, and had taken to the profession since she was little. Her father had taught her how to use a bow to an almost supernatural proficiency, and she was able to skin a full grown buck completely in under two minutes. Not only that, but she was also a black belt in martial arts, a skill she had swiftly put to use when they had been caught unawares by a group of scavengers a few days beforehand. She still had her black compound bow with her, as well as a dozen arrows and a hunting knife sheathed in the side of the quiver. She was also an excellent sprinter, on account of sticking with track through high school and college.

Zack, meanwhile, was a competitive clay pigeon shooter, and was a crack shot with his over-under shotgun. It had proven to be very effective against the smaller 'monsters', though he kept an assault rifle on hand as a back-up. He was also very strong, easily being able to bench press two hundred pounds. He wasn't very skilled in hand to hand combat, though, something which had led to both Lloyd and Fala having to help him out in the occasional drunken bar fight he incited in the past. He was rather outdoorsy as well, and enjoyed hiking through the thick forests a few miles out of town; this was why he currently had a thick bladed machete at his side. This also explained his stamina; he could run for miles without getting very tired, though he wasn't very quick on his feet.

And then, there was Lloyd himself. In all honesty, he wasn't nearly as impressive as the others; he couldn't hunt or sprint as well as Fala, and he wasn't as strong as Zack, since all he did was work as a freelance photographer. He wasn't exactly unskilled in the art of survival, though; his older brother had been in the army, and during some of their family get togethers he had shown Lloyd both how to use CQC and small fire arms, which he had shown some talent for. One of his other past times was collecting swords and learning how to use them, something many people had laughed at for the strangeness of it. Be it broadswords, claymores, hand-and-a-halfs, or long swords, he'd tried to get his hand on at least one of them. His personal favorite, though, was one he had found during a trek through the woods with the others when they took a wrong turn during a road trip to a country far to the south; a sharp, single edged iron katana with a black wooden scabbard trimmed with gold, locked away in an old box in the back of a cave. It had been in amazingly good condition when he had found it, and he made sure to keep it that way. It was far stronger than any of the other swords he owned, and it was also the only one he had taken with him. His only other armament was his brother's old USP handgun, strapped to his leg with a tactical holster.

"So, think we'll find anything good this time?" Zack asked, scratching the back of his head as they waited for Fala's signal. His light brown hair was shaved close to his head in a military cut, and their time on the run had led to him growing a short beard. His green eyes flicked around anxiously, as if he was expecting something to jump out at them at any moment. He had a somewhat wide jaw as well, something that complimented his muscular frame.

"I hope so. Last encounter with those scavengers left me with three magazines," Lloyd replied, shaking his shaggy dirty blonde hair out of his blue eyes and continuing to watch the store from across the street. He was a fair bit taller than his friends, with Fala being a full seven inches shorter than him, and Jules fell short by four. He used to joke that he was like a twig: long and thin. This was very quickly remedied though; the last two weeks had definitely whipped him into better shape than he would have ever thought he'd be before, on account of his preference to stay indoors and work on his computer. This did lead to him having a paler complexion than the others, though.

"Well, you didn't have to shoot at 'em. You were close enough that your samurai sword could've worked, right?"

"It's not a "samurai sword", it's a katana. How many times am I going to have to tell you that?"

"It's a sword, and samurai used to use 'em. Whaddya call something like that?"

"A katana!"

"If you want to be that stingy about it…"

"Anyways," Lloyd continued, rolling his eyes. "When you get down to it, a sword won't beat out a gun at that range. Unless I had a bulletproof vest or something, I'd have just gotten gunned down. And last thing you two need is one less teammate, right?"

"I dunno, it'd make rationing our food easier," the green-eyed man joked, chuckling to himself. "Speaking of, we outta hit that grocery store up the road before going on our way so we can restock. Hopefully there's still food in there…"

"Miss your twenty-four-seven fast-food that bad, eh?" the katana wielder snarked with a short grin.

"Man, did you have to bring that up? I'd kill for a beef taco…"

"I keep telling you those weren't real tacos. Besides, I'm pretty sure there are worse things than a lack of meal options right about now."

Lloyd noticed a slight movement in the store, pulling his camera out and using the long lens to see farther. Fala stood by the door, waving them over with the all-clear sign. Even though she was covered in dirt like they all were, Lloyd couldn't deny that he was lucky to have someone as beautiful as her as his significant other. She had long, dark brown hair that hung down to her lower back. She occasionally tied it back into a ponytail, though Lloyd couldn't decide which he actually preferred when she asked. She had brown eyes that, while not particularly clear or 'shiny', had a certain attractiveness to them. She had a strong, lean build, and a rather noticeable chest as well; she seemed delicate and gentle, yet fierce all the same.

"Alright, I think we're good," he said, pulling his camera away and opening the driver's side door. "Load up, Zack."

"I still don't get why you carry that thing around with you," the man sighed, getting in the truck on the passenger's side. "Didn't you say it ran out of battery a few days ago?"

"Yeah, but it works better than those crappy old binoculars of yours. It might take up space, sure, but hey, that's for me to worry about, not you."

"Whatever you say, Mr. Photographer," Zack chuckled as Lloyd pulled the truck around to the front of the store. Both men hopped out and moved inside where Fala stood, a pile of ammo to her right.

"I found the jackpot back there," she said, a wide smile crossing her face. "Shotgun shells, handgun ammo, assault rifle cartridges… I think we'll have more than enough if we take all of this."

"Trouble is, I don't think we'll have space in the back for another bag this size," Lloyd remarked, glancing out at the bed of his truck. "If one of us has to ride in the back without falling out, we'll need room for them along with the food, water, and other supplies. Let's just take what we need."

"Yeah, I guess you're right about that," Zack said. "Dibs on the shotgun shells!"

The three went to work pulling out the ammo that would work with their guns; the brown-haired woman had managed to locate a number of arrows by the hunting supplies, bringing her total up to two-dozen. Lloyd was able to fit another six magazines into his messenger bag, which, when combined with the two in his leg holster and the one loaded into his gun, brought the number of shots he had to seventy-two. Zack just shoved a bunch of shotgun shells into the side pocket of his backpack, seemingly satisfied with the numbers he had procured. The three split up to search the rest of the store for supplies afterwards.

"Speak of the devil," Lloyd mumbled, coming across a number of bullet-proof vests on a rack. "Better get one for everyone…" He stopped and pulled three free, also noting a pair of thick black boots on the floor below. They looked to be about his size, so he decided to switch out his old worn shoes for them, something he was more than happy to do. He tucked the legs of his jeans into the tops, making sure they fit well.

"Yo, Lloyd! Come over here, I found something!" The man glanced in the direction of Zack's voice, noticing it came from the back of the store. He set the vests on the counter and walked through the doorframe, finding his friends standing by a large table.

"What is it?"

"The guy who owned this store must've been crazy about old war memorabilia," his friend replied with a wide grin. "He has a portable minigun here! And an entire bag filled with ammo for the thing, along with a stand for it!"

"Wait, seriously?! That could come in handy… Does it work?"

"It looks clean to me," Fala said, looking over the sleek metal weapon closely. "I think we could take it, but that depends on if we can lift it."

"Easy enough," Zack replied, gripping the top handle and the stock. With a short grunt, he hefted the weapon off the counter, flicking a switch on the side and laughing as the barrel began to spin. "Would ya look at that?! It's like god's own anti-son-of-a-bitch machine!"

"Alright, we don't need to go throwing around game quotes here," Lloyd sighed, though he had to admit, he was more than impressed with the find. Something like that might even be effective against the larger creatures…

"Find anything else?" Fala asked as Zack moved the gun and the mount for it out to the truck.

"Yeah, a few bulletproof vests and some new boots," Lloyd replied, grabbing his findings off the counter. "Beats shoe shopping with you, that's for sure."

"I hardly ever bought shoes, jackass," the woman laughed, taking one of the vests as he handed it to her. "Still, those were the days… I wish this was all a dream, and that I'd just wake up and laugh it off with you guys at the bar like always…"

"Hard to believe it's been like this for just a few weeks… We'd better keep moving though. Maybe we can all get back to the way things were once we reach the army perimeter."

"I hope so. God, I miss showers…" Fala mumbled, buckling the thick vest over her thin dark green jacket. Lloyd likewise put his on over his light grey hoodie, making sure to pull the hood out over the neckline to make it more comfortable. "Oh, I almost forgot! I found something you could use. Here."

Fala handed him a black-handled hunting knife with a nylon sheath, about eight inches in length overall. It looked a little beaten, but still fully functional; the blade was in pristine condition.

"I found it by the hunting section. Maybe you can use that."

"Probably… It'll make cutting ropes easier than drawing my sword," he said, putting a hand on the black cloth wrapped handle of the katana. He fit the sheath onto the back of his belt and buttoned it, pleased with its accessibility. "Thanks, Fala. Does this mean I owe you a gift at our next stop?"

"No, just that you owe me this," she chuckled, pulling in close and kissing him sweetly. She pulled away after a moment, smiling up at him, before backing away. "Okay, we're even now. Let's get going!"

"Right behind you," Lloyd grinned, following after his beloved as she walked out of the store. Even though it was a living hell for them right now, he was still glad that they could have their romantic moments every now and then. They tried to do so out of Zack's view, though, to avoid him poking fun at them as he tended to do.

As they stepped outside, Fala sat in the passenger's side of the truck while Zack jumped in the back, between a number of bags stored there along with the minigun, which he had set up towards the back on its stand. Unfortunately, there were only two seats up front, so he had to make do with the bed. As Lloyd walked around to the driver's side, though, a loud, screeching roar sounded from overhead, causing him to freeze and shoot his gaze upwards.

As if from nowhere, an enormous dark shape flew over a tall, three story building, far faster than anything he had ever seen before. It had a pair of giant, powerful wings, and four legs ending in sharp claws. It's black, scaled body was long and thin, easily reaching almost fifteen meters in length. Its head was crested with two large, protruding horns, and a noticeable pair of fangs jutted out from its lower jaw.

"Shit, it's that black dragon!" Zack gasped, fumbling for chain gun he had just packed in the back. "Lloyd, get in the truck! We've gotta go, _now!"_

"Don't need to tell me twice!" Lloyd replied, jumping into the truck and turning the keys in the ignition as he slammed the door shut. The engine roared to life, and he immediately stomped on the gas pedal, accelerating as fast as he could. Zack kept himself low in the back to avoid being thrown out of the bed, while Fala gripped the arm rest tightly as Lloyd swerved to avoid the other cars abandoned in the road.

"Dammit, it's after us!" the machete-wielder shouted, pointing upwards at the dragon as it flew over them again. The force of its wings caused the truck to swerve somewhat, though Lloyd was able to right the car immediately. He pushed the gas pedal down to the floor as they left town, flying down the empty road as fast as they could go.

"Might want to put that anti-son-of-a-bitch machine to use, Zack!" Lloyd shouted, swerving around a deep pothole as they continued picking up speed. The man replied by hooking up the ammo feed to the minigun and spinning the barrels, preparing to open fire on the beast as it flew past them again. A loud drone filled the air as the gun fired countless rounds into the sky, with Zack holding the back of the heavy machine gun while spraying the sky with bullets. He wasn't sure if his friend actually knew how to use the thing, though Lloyd wasn't about to turn his attention from the road in front of him to say anything else.

The black beast flew over their truck, slamming its claws into the pavement and forming a deep crack in the ground. Lloyd quickly spun the wheel to the side, swerving around the obstacle, though finding himself heading straight towards another break in the road. The dragon had clawed about half a dozen breaks into the pavement, forcing Lloyd to twist and turn the truck as quickly as he could to avoid crashing, though while also throwing the passengers around wildly.

"Where the hell did you learn how to drive?!" Zack shouted, having barely avoided falling out the back and bringing the minigun around again. "We're in a car, not a goddamn rollercoaster!"

"She's a truck, not a car! And shut up, at least I have I license, Mr. Failed-Out-of-Driving-School!" Lloyd shouted back, swerving round the last of the breaks in the road. They weren't in the clear yet, though; glancing in the rear view mirror, Lloyd saw a glowing blue light forming between the creature's horns, almost like electricity building up…

It was only the fact that he had seen the attack once before that he knew to swerve aside, barely avoiding a massive bolt of lightning shoot out from the dragon's horns and tear up the road beside them. He swore silently, seeing that they were down to two lanes for the next hundred feet or so. If it tried that again, they'd be done for.

For some reason though, the dragon didn't attempt to launch another bolt at them, only flying slightly behind them and in the air. Zack had taken to unloading as many rounds as he could into the beast's chest and underbelly, but to no avail; the high caliber rounds merely bounced off the hard scale plating, not even scratching the monstrous beast. It soared overhead again, causing a massive rush of wind to throw the truck off again, before landing on the road about a hundred feet up the road. Lloyd quickly righted the truck and swerved to the side, almost throwing Zack out the back again, just in time to avoid crashing into the beast as it barred their path.

A loud blast behind them sent the car spinning out, though; the dragon had whipped its tail around and smashed the ground just behind them, causing a small explosion in the process! Zack shouted something over the sound of the squealing tires, though Lloyd was so focused on their predicament that he didn't catch a word of it. Fala screamed as they almost slammed into a support beam of an overpass, though luckily Lloyd managed to bring the car around just in time to avoid smashing into it.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Zack groaned, gripping the interior of the car with his free arm through the open window in the back.

"If you throw up in my truck, I swear to god-!"

"Lloyd, focus on the road!"

Zack shook his head a few times, still dazed, and reached back to pull the minigun up again. Unfortunately, he had let go of it to keep from getting thrown out of the truck bed, and the weapon was lying a few hundred feet back on the road along with one of the bags used to weigh the stand down, and rapidly growing farther away.

"Why the hell is this thing attacking us?!" Fala said, glancing back out the window while Zack moved to one of the bags in the back.

"You're asking me?!" Lloyd replied, yelping as he avoided a large chunk of ice slam into the road ahead of them. "It's a frickin' dragon, this is what they do! I think!"

"Great answer, Mr. Photographer!" Zack shouted, handing the stock of a rifle to Fala through the window. "If you need more rounds, I'll toss 'em back! We've gotta hit something important before too long, so just keep firing!"

"On it!" Fala used the butt of the rifle to break the window on her side, leaning out and aiming at the beast as it flew behind them again.

"Aww, come on, I just got her insured!" Lloyd groaned, pressing down harder on the gas pedal. "Couldn't you have just rolled the window down?! She's brand new!"

"Takes too long, and I doubt there are many dealers that have coverage for dragon attacks!" Fala replied, opening fire with her rifle. Zack likewise joined her, passing a number of cartridges up to the front before firing on the dragon with his own automatic gun. Both weapons still proved useless against the beast, the bullets harmlessly ricocheting off of its hard black scales. A few of the shots tore through the thin webbing of its wings, though the group concentrated fire on its main body in their panic.

As the pair reloaded their guns, the black behemoth flew overhead again, arching its neck towards the road and letting loose a spray of light blue mist into the concrete. The ground immediately froze where it aimed, coating almost ten meters of road in a layer of thick ice! The three yelled as the truck ran over the patch, the tires spinning too fast to grip the slick surface, and spun out again, veering off the road and breaking through a road barrier, crashing into the small forest on the side of the road.

The airbags deployed just as they hit, slamming into Lloyd and Fala with an intense force, though saving both from very severe injury. Zack had been thrown from the truck as it broke through the metal barrier, landing on the peak of the hill leading into the woods and rolling down most of the way, miraculously surviving the crash with very few injuries. With a groan, Lloyd shoved his door open, almost falling out of the ruined truck as he disembarked the vehicle. He had a small cut on his left cheek from the crash, though that was hardly the worst of his injuries. He probably had major bruising all over, most likely a few broken ribs. Fala had fared better, being mostly dazed from the crash and only getting out with a slight limp, immediately going to her beloved as he groaned in pain and went down on his knees a few feet away.

"Lloyd, come on, we have to go! It isn't safe here!"

"E-easy for you to say…" he groaned, unsuccessfully trying to push himself up as his chest exploded with pain. Fala quickly wrapped her arms around his torso and pulled him up, lifting one of his arms over her shoulders and helping support him with her own strength as she moved towards the woods. The pair made their way into the cover of the trees as fast as they could, followed after by Zack, who grabbed as many supplies as he could from the vehicle as he passed by.

The three came to a stop by a large tree farther in the woods, where Fala set Lloyd against the thick trunk. She took a first-aid kit out of her own bag and set to work patching him up, removing the Kevlar vest, his hoodie, and his shirt to get a better look at him. She began by bandaging the cut on his cheek before going to a gash on his leg.

"Agh, ow, ow, easy there," he hissed as she poured alcohol on the wound, bandaging it as tightly as possible without causing him too much pain. "Is that all…?"

"It's all I can do for it now, at least," she sighed worriedly. "I think you've got a few broken ribs, but I can't really treat those other than bandaging them…"

"Might as well do that now if it'll get him back up faster," Zack remarked, pulling his shotgun out. "We don't know if that dragon'll leave us alone, or if any of those little raptor guys will be in here. It'd be a hell of a lot easier to avoid those with three people able to run."

Fala applied more bandages to his torso and abdomen before Lloyd pulled his shirt and hoodie back on. The vest had saved him from suffering anything worse than his injured ribs, and while it had taken some damage from the crash, he decided it would be better to hold onto it than not. The blue-eyed man pushed himself up, feeling remarkably better than he had been, though still hurting immensely.

"We should try and find a place to hole up and get some rest," he suggested, strapping his katana back onto his belt. "Lord knows after that, we're lucky to be alive…"

"Sounds like a plan, but where can we go? We're miles from the closest city, and the best we've got is this forest for cover. If that thing decides to launch a fireball at us, we'll be forced out," Fala pointed out, taking her bow from Zack and slinging it onto her back. "And if our heavy grade weapons didn't do anything to it, I doubt what we have now will be any more effective…"

"Let's just stay off the grid while we work on a plan," the machete user said. The others nodded in agreement, and resolved to going out to the remains of the truck to see if they could recover any more supplies. It seemed that the dragon thought they had perished in the crash, because there was no sign of the creature in the skies. The three grabbed the bags of food and water they had, as well as some of the weaponry and tools, before heading back to the small spot they had designated as a campsite. They made a makeshift tent and ate a small meal of canned meat and bagged chips before seating themselves around a small fire they made.

"Alright, we were in Goldarbor Town most recently, right?" Lloyd asked, unfurling a map of the state and laying it out in front of him. "The barrier is supposed to be west, on the border. Goldarbor is twenty miles from there, though we were going down the highway for a while before we… 'crashed'. I'd say we're maybe ten miles away, give or take a couple."

"So, unless we find another vehicle, it'll take us a while to get over there," Zack grunted, pulling out his machete and taking to sharpening the blade. "Difficulty is, the roads are open to dragon attacks, though they are a lot faster. We go on foot, we should be safer if we stick to the forested areas, but there are only so many of those around here. A car would be a better option."

"I didn't see any on the road heading this way," Fala remarked. "I mean, I wasn't _looking_ at the road…"

"There weren't any," Lloyd said with a sigh. "Snow was the last option we had, since none of us really know how to hotwire a car anyways…" The three sat in silence, knowing their situation wasn't an easy one to get out of. With no fast land vehicles around, and a small mess of trees as the only cover they had, they were practically cornered.

"…Alright, here's what I think we should do," Zack said after a few moments. "We all take a share of the food and water, store it in our packs. There's no way we can make it on foot with bags that big, and we might have to split up if we're attacked. We get only what we'll absolutely need, and we make our way over to the barrier at nightfall. Hopefully that dragon will take a nap around then, and we'll be safe."

"So, travel light and move under the dark?" Lloyd asked, glancing over at the supplies they had and mulling over the idea. "I don't see any better options we have. Let's do it."

"Alright, we've got seven bottles of water, a box of granola bars, a few cans of soup, some instant ramen, a can of pop, half a dozen apples, and… a bag of jelly beans…?" Fala looked over at Lloyd curiously upon seeing the last item of food they had, and he glanced away abashedly. "This is what you spent all that time getting back in the Silverdale market?"

"Not my fault those are my favorite snack…"

"And you made fun of me for missing fast food restaurants," Zack chuckled, crouching down next to Fala and going through the bag. "Never could lose that sweet tooth, could ya? Okay, so, we all get at least two water bottles, four of the granola bars, a can of soup, and two apples minimum. I'm not sure we'll be able to eat the ramen without using water too, so whoever takes that will take another water bottle. Lloyd, you can keep your jelly beans, but I get dibs on the pop."

"I'll take the ramen then," Fala said, grabbing the small package and another water bottle, setting them aside. "Let's go through our packs and get rid of whatever we don't need, so we'll have more space for the food."

The trio dumped their packs out on the ground and began sorting through their things; Lloyd's contained his camera, his wallet, a few batteries for the flashlight mounted on his handgun, his smart phone, a small poncho, a case holding his favorite sunglasses, a blanket, bug spray, the handgun ammo, a 'magazine' he immediately threw under a thick shrub before the others could see, and a plastic bag containing the essentials for caring for his sword and gun. With a low sigh, he set his camera aside, along with the spray, blanket, and sunglasses case, knowing they took up the most space and wouldn't be necessary for the trek to the army barricade. Still, he found some solace in the fact that he could wear the sunglasses instead, meaning he could at least keep those with him. He packed everything else back into his messenger bag along with the food, zipping it shut with a bit of room to spare. Fala and Zack finished sorting their things as well, the possessions they wouldn't require being thrown into a pile beside them.

"Alright, and now we wait," Lloyd mumbled, seating himself beneath their makeshift shelter.

* * *

A loud roar and the slight scent of smoke awoke the three a few hours later, and Lloyd darted up immediately at the sound. Fala had been resting next to him with her head on his shoulder, while Zack was on the other side of the tent. They glanced between each other, knowing what caused the sound immediately. Without a word, they gathered up their packs and moved out of the tent, moving as quietly through the trees as they could. Lloyd saw smoke and flames far behind them, nearby where they had first entered the forest. He thought he could see the remains of his truck burning by one of the trees, the white frame now completely blackened and charred, the windows broken, and the tires melted away and flat.

"Dammit…" he groaned, turning away and moving along with the others as fast as he could. "Well, it was fun while it lasted, Snow. At least I probably won't have to make any more payments on her…"

"I'm pretty sure none of us will have to pay for anything for a while," Zack remarked with a hint of sarcasm, though the attempt to lighten the mood was in vain. The dragon must've realized they had survived, and now it was back to finish the job, completely destroying Lloyd's truck and lighting their only protection on fire.

"I'm sure we'll make it out of this, guys," Fala said encouragingly, taking the lead between the pair. "We've survived everything these last few weeks have thrown at us, as a team. As long as we're together, we'll make it." This was something she had taken to whenever they were feeling down: trying to lift their spirits. Lloyd could tell she was having a hard time trying to do so with the weight of the situation pressing down on them, but somehow she still managed to force out a smile.

"Heh, I guess you're right," Lloyd said, trying to at least humor her. "I mean, hell, we survived that lawsuit a few months back, so what can stop us from surviving the jaws of another hungry beast?"

"Hey, that asshole was asking to have his jaw broken," Julian said, grinning a little. "I just thought it'd be funnier to do it with a jawbreaker!"

"Yeah, and it was only because Lloyd had saved up to buy a new camera that you could get out on bail," the woman laughed.

"You still owe me for that, by the way."

"Yeah, yeah… Once we get out of this, I'll buy you a beer."

"That's what got us into that problem in the first place!"

"Did you want that guy to keep sleazing on you, Fala?"

"No… But still, three-thousand bucks? That's worth more than one beer."

"I'll buy him the bar then."

Another loud roar from above ended their banter, and the three glanced at each other nervously as they neared the edge of the forest. It looked as though the closest patch of cover they had was about a hundred feet away, across a large open field and a stretch of road. If they were going to make it, they'd have to run as fast as they could, and they couldn't look back.

"Okay, this is simple," Lloyd said, taking a deep breath. "On my mark, we run."

"Your call," Zack said, slinging his shotgun across his backpack and getting into a sprinting position. Fala did the same, and Lloyd followed suit, making sure his bag and weapons were secure before doing so.

"Alright, on three… Three!"

The trio immediately broke into a headlong sprint for the trees, running as fast as their legs could carry them. Fala ended up taking the lead again, as she was the fastest of the three. Zack trailed slightly behind Lloyd, though they kept close to each other as they made their way to the trees on the other end of the highway. They had just reached the concrete before the black beast was upon them, soaring just over their heads and buffeting the ground with an intense gust. Lloyd almost found himself swept off his feet, but somehow managed to stumble back into a running position. Zack and Fala likewise continued to run towards the trees undeterred.

The dragon made another pass at them, coating the ground in front of them with slick ice. Lloyd cursed under his breath, knowing that this obstacle would slow them down immensely. Still, the trio didn't have any other options, and ran headlong over the icy surface. Lloyd's boots had surprisingly good traction on the slick face, and he was able to help keep Fala moving along while Zack unsheathed his machete and used it to help keep himself from slipping too far, digging the tip into the frozen earth whenever he slid.

The three made it over the icy patch just as the dragon flew towards them again, with Lloyd and Fala being about ten feet in front of Zack. Just as he stepped off the ice, though, Zack's foot slid wildly out from beneath him, and he fell to the ground with a loud grunt. Lloyd and Fala slid to a stop, and the the katana wielder made to run back and get him. Zack waved him off with a wide sweep with his arm though.

"Just go! You guys can make it! It'll come after me!"

"Zack, I'm not-!"

" _GO!"_

Before Lloyd could make another attempt to run at his fallen friend, the dragon launched a fireball between them, lighting the field on fire and cutting them off from each other. Lloyd spared one last desparate glance at Zack, who continued to urge him to run away, before reluctantly turning and running towards the woods with Fala. He looked back once, seeing Zack push himself up and hold his machete out in front of him as the dragon landed on the highway, a strange blue glow emanating from its horns. The pair made it through the trees before the scene unfolded fully, cutting themselves off from view as a blue flash erupted behind them, and the beast's roar echoed through the sky.

"Oh god… ZACK!" Fala gasped, holding onto Lloyd's arm tightly and sobbing uncontrollably. "Lloyd, Zack's… He's…"

"I… I know, Fala," Lloyd whispered, holding her closely in an attempt to comfort her, trying to hold back his own grief. Had Zack really… was he really dead? Had the dragon killed him too, just like all the others out there? "…He told us to keep going, Fala. He told us to… to go as far away as possible. We… We should listen to him this time. He didn't always know the right answer, but this sure as hell doesn't seem like a wrong one…"

"Y… yeah… He wanted us to escape, and we can't forget that…" Fala pushed herself off of his arm, wiping her eyes with her sleeve, before forcing out another smile. "After all, we've got each other, right?"

"Right," Lloyd replied, smiling back at her sorrowfully. He wanted nothing more than to keep her safe, but he wasn't sure he could do even that right now. The pair took a moment to catch their breath before continuing on through the woods, hearing the giant wings of the dragon beating overhead. They made their way through the foliage quickly, but after a few hundred meters of trekking through the thick forest they came to the end of the treeline, and another long field extended between them and the next patch of trees.

"This is… W-we can make it, right…?" Fala asked worriedly, looking up at him uncertainly.

"Of… of course we can," Lloyd replied, trying to hide the fact that he knew they wouldn't be able to outrun the dragon. He held her closely and lovingly, kissing her once on the lips for a long time. This could be their last moments, for all he knew, and he might as well try and go out knowing he'd been lucky enough to have someone like her in his life.

"It does look like it's a shorter distance…" Fala mumbled after they pulled away, pressing her head against his chest and hugging him around the middle tightly. After a few more moments, she let him go and smiled once more. "Alright… Do or die, Lloyd. Let's do this!"

He nodded at her and smiled, taking a deep breath before charging headlong into the field alongside his beloved, hearing the beast roar again almost as soon as they entered its line of sight. It was as if time seemed to slow down for him while they sprinted across the field, his movements becoming slow and exaggerated. The black behemoth was flying directly at them from above, appearing to move at a much slower speed as well as it neared the pair. He saw blue sparks dance between the creature's claws as it wound back, aiming its claws between the pair.

Before he knew it, Lloyd was rocketing through the air, the black dragon having driven its claws into the ground next to them and causing a burst of flames and electricity to erupt from the earth. Lloyd yelped as he slammed into the ground and rolled to a stop, his ribs aching from the impact. He coughed twice as he pushed himself onto his hands and knees, though a shrill scream from across the field and another flash of blue light drew his attention immediately.

"FALA! _NO!_ "

The dragon stood opposite him, a smoking patch of grass where his beloved had landed just a moment before. It was glaring down at him with its fierce red eyes, a low rumbling sound coming from its throat. It almost sounded like… laughter? Was this thing _taunting_ him? This dragon just killed the two closest people in his life, and now it was _laughing at him?_

Lloyd didn't know what came over him then, but all that he felt was an intense rage build up inside him, exploding out of him in a loud, anguished yell of fury. He glared straight up at the dragon, snapping his katana out of its sheath and grasping it with both hands.

" _I'm going to kill you_!" he screamed, breaking out into a sprint at the dragon, his blade at his side. All reason had left him at that point. There was no way he could kill this thing! It had destroyed tanks, demolished helicopters, reduced entire cities to ruins! What could a single person do to a beast of that extent?

Not a single one of those thoughts ran through his mind. All he wanted was revenge. The beast didn't even try to move as he approached it, yelling as loudly as he could and swinging with all of his might at its leg. The sharp edge of the katana struck the black dragon's scales with a resounding _clang,_ like metal on metal. His blade still traveled over the scales, grating against them from the force of his swing and even generating sparks. He heard a small _thump_ on the ground in front of him as he finished his swing, and he spared a glance down at the noise.

A small piece of one of its scales had cracked off and fallen next to his foot! He had damaged it after all! Maybe it could be killed, if he could break enough scales! He wound up again, preparing to take another swing…

But he never got the chance to strike again. The same way a person would shoo a fly away, the dragon batted him aside with its claw, launching him a solid twenty feet across the field onto his back. Lloyd grunted in pain as his injuries screamed at him again, yet he tried to force himself up again. Before the attempt could be made, though, something slammed him into the ground again, pinning him in place while an intense weight pressed down on him. He groaned in pain as the pressure intensified, though it didn't seem like it was actively trying to kill him…

 **You intrigue me greatly, boy.** The voice seemed to pierce his very mind, a loud, powerful presence that exuded pure might and pride. Lloyd shuddered slightly at the noise, forcing one eye open as he grimaced at the dragon. It was staring down at him, its head incredibly close to him as it looked him up and down spitefully. **Tell me, do you fear me? Do you cower and squeal like a cornered rat? That is what you might as well be in my eyes.**

Was that… was this the dragon? Was it _speaking to him?_

 **Yes, I am addressing you, lowly human, and you would do well not to test my patience,** the voice growled, its annoyance being incredibly prevalent to Lloyd's mind. **Answer me!** It roared, pressing down on him even harder, causing him to scream in pain.

"N… NO! I don't fear you! You bastard of a dragon! I'll kill you if it's the last thing that I do!" he shouted as threateningly as possible, despite knowing that in his position, there was little he _could_ do to follow through. The dragon knew this as well, and a mocking laugh filled the man's mind.

 **Such petty threats. Is that how you feel you are in comparison to a god, worm? A deity among men? You have evaded my grasp for a full seven days, though I do admit I was enjoying teasing and toying with you, letting you think you could make it to that 'barricade' your army tried to create. Flames and ashes is all that remains of that pathetic attempt to block my wrath! Nothing can defeat me, none of your weapons can pierce my hide, none of your vehicles can escape my talons! You and your kind are but a mess of worms, wriggling and groveling about at my feet as I trod over you, crushing you into fine red pastes on the ground!**

"Wha… what are you…?" Lloyd gasped, coughing and grimacing in pain as the creature kept up the pressure on his chest, pinning him flat against the grass.

 **I've already told you, boy. I am a god! The beasts I have wrought upon your civilization are under my control. If they disobey me, I will force them to bend to my will. If I so chose, I could command every single one of them within a hundred mile radius to converge on you and eat you alive while I have you pinned here, tearing you limb from limb while you deafen yourself with your own anguished screams!**

 **But, I will not. Because I believe you may be different from the others. I may test you, if my first little pawn proves to be a dull waste of my time.**

"Other pawn…?" he groaned, trying to free his arm from under the behemoth's talons. "Test me…?! This isn't a game! These are our lives! Why are you doing this, if you say you're a god?!"

 **Because I have sought to return to this world with its inhabitants firmly under my rule!** The voice roared back, silencing the man as his mind was filled with a searing pain. **You all have grown lazy and entitled, feeling as though you are masters of this realm. But you are wrong. This is** _ **my**_ **world, and I will see to it that I reign over all once again!**

 **I do not wish to be bored, though. So, I have decided to set aside a few 'special cases' for my enjoyment. Hopefully you will prove to be a greater challenge than the other puny members of your race who flee from my very presence. If not, then you will just be another one of the many bodies left in the path of my reign.**

"I won't let this happen…!" he growled, wrenching his sword arm free at last and swinging the blade at the dragon's leg in a fruitless attempt to free himself. The blade merely glanced off the beast's scales, though, not even leaving a scratch. "You killed my two closest friends! Destroyed my home! Ruined _my life!_ I will _never_ let you get away with that, not until the day you or I are _dead!_ "

The voice merely laughed again, a smug chuckle that practically mocked his threats and challenges, though being pleased with them all the same.

 **Your friends are not dead, they are merely asleep. You will all awaken when the time is right… perhaps if we meet again, you will prove to be a more challenging opponent. But, I grow tired of wasting my time with you. I was already pushing myself not to tear apart that first forest you decided to hide in, and now I am at the end of my patience. We will see whether you can rise to challenge me or not, boy. You are lucky that I have chosen one before you already, else you would not have a moment's reprieve from the day you awaken again. Perhaps he may fall early, though, and we will meet again sooner than I think. I do not care, all that matters is that I don't grow tired of this little game.**

The beast shifted its foot slightly, pinning his sword arm back down onto the ground and causing him to groan in pain again. What did this all mean? Was he really talking with this… dragon? What did it mean by 'one other pawn'? What did it mean by 'awaken'? Was he going mad?

Lloyd could only look up helplessly as a bright blue glow began to emit from the monster's horns, and eerie tint of azure that seemed to build up into a crystal like object. He braced himself as best he could as it approached him, his heart rate quickening as it neared his chest. What was this? Was he going to die?

 **There's that look of fear I've seen so often in your race's eyes,** the voice chuckled tauntingly. **Hear my name and tremble, boy! I am the Brilliant Darkness, the bane of mankind! And you will perish beneath me!**

The last thing Lloyd saw was a bright flash of blue, and he felt as though his entire body froze in place. He let out one last yell before all went silent, and his mind grew dark…

* * *

 **Author Notes: Please review! So, I'll bet this was a bit of a surprise, huh? Driven is actually a story based around The Lost Civilization! I heard you liked fanworks, so I wrote a fanwork of a fanwork to... ah, you get the picture. I had the idea for this story a little after Gecko posted Underground, and I asked him how likely it would be for other Lost to have brought weapons back with them in the same vein as Heine. His confirmation led to me making a Lost OC, Lloyd. Then that lead to more characters, and eventually a story itself. Probably the biggest idea behind writing this story is that I want it to be canonical with the events of The Lost Civilization. While that decision rests solely with Gecko himself, I'm writing this to mesh with the events of TLC very, very cleanly. Expect references to both TLC and my own stories here!**

 **I will also say that pretty much the entire story is done too, so I'll actually be able to keep to a regular release schedule! I'll likely be posting one chapter every weekend. As such, I'm putting The Master Corps on hold for the time being: while I post these chapters, I'll be writing more chapters of TMC! It's the perfect plan, muhahaha! ...Ahem.**

 **Also, as an important note, I would recommend against reading this if you haven't at least read up to the Malefica arc in The Lost Civilization, as some parts of the original story may be spoiled.**

 **Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, dear reader, and I'll see you next week for Lloyd's first steps into the world of TLC!**

 **Playing: Fire Emblem Fates, Hyrule Warriors Legends**

 **Watching: Silver Spoon, Noragami, One Punch Man**


	2. Chapter 2

**The Lost Civilization: Driven**

 **By: Thomas A. Hawk**

 **Edited by: dashboardgecko**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Monster Hunter. The rights of the game belong entirely to Capcom. This is a fanwork taking place in the setting of The Lost Civilization, another fanwork of the Monster Hunter games. The world and its characters, aside from those newly created for the sake of this story, are property of dashboardgecko.**

* * *

Chapter 2- The Awakening

An azure light.

Lloyd vaguely recalled a bright flash of blue- or was that happening right now? He thought he hit the ground, but he hardly felt a thing. It was dark, dark as night, or was he indoors? Was the ground rough? Smooth? Wood or stone? His house had wood floors. His house… What was it like again? Pictures… There were lots of pictures. And it was high up. The others complained about the stairs…

The others, where were they? There was a dragon… They were running from it. They stopped- no, they crashed, they were attacked… What happened to them? Had that dragon spoken to him? He recalled a voice…

He half-consciously felt himself groveling on the floor, his hand gripping something wrapped in cloth. Was he crawling? He didn't feel like he was moving, but there was a light ahead that grew larger each second. Sort of like a train in a movie… What was a train again? What were movies?

A figure appeared before him, obscured in shadow by the light behind him. What was that he was holding? An axe? It was much larger than the hatchet Lloyd's father used to chop wood with. He hadn't heard from his father in weeks. The man took a step forward, then another. Lloyd panicked. He swung the thing in his hand- it was his sword, right. There was an echoing clang, and some muffled words. He couldn't make out any of it. Did he say something, or was it the figure? It was like a bad radio connection… but what was that again?

Another figure appeared from behind the first. He approached quickly. Did Lloyd even raise his sword this time? He felt it leave his grasp. Did he just drop it? That didn't seem right. He hazily remembered reaching for his leg- there was something there, right? Another weapon?- but something pinned his hand down. He looked straight up in time to see something speeding towards his face, and a moment later he blacked out again.

* * *

Lloyd woke with a start, letting out a shocked gasp and swinging his arms up defensively. He tried kicking out, but the blankets covering his legs just tangled around his feet from the effort. Wait… Blankets? And a pillow behind him? He was lying in a bed! He hadn't lain in a proper bed in weeks!

He groaned and rubbed his eyes wearily as a wave of nausea rolled over him, though it passed almost as quickly as it came, leaving a rather bad headache in its place. He felt like something had struck him rather hard, actually. He brought his hand up to his forehead, and was surprised to find some cloth bandages covering a rather tender spot above his right eye. Had he been injured there?

No, he hadn't been injured there. He couldn't have been. Last thing he remembered was… a car crash, right. He and his friends had been running towards something. A dragon pursued them- why was there even a dragon?- and they were run off the road. He, Fala, and Zack. Fala helped patch up his injuries before, but there weren't any on his head that he remembered. Hadn't something else happened though? He could barely remember… Maybe he had gotten hurt again? Could Fala have tended his wounds again? If so, where was she? And where was Zack?

Where was _he,_ for that matter? Glancing around the room, Lloyd knew that this was a place he'd never been to before. The entire structure was made of wood, and had a couple windows on opposite walls. It was light outside, but a few thin curtains were pulled over them, leaving the room mostly dark. There was a chest in the corner, and across from that was a desk and a chair. A candle was burning on the table, and in center of the desk appeared to be a set of clothing. Why did it look so... archaic?

Despite his raging headache, Lloyd pulled his legs around to the side of the bed and tried to stand, nearly stumbling over as his legs buckled beneath him and barely catching the side of a nightstand to keep himself upright. He felt… unused to walking. He wasn't the type to go for runs in the morning, but his legs never felt _that_ out of practice before. He took a few seconds to regain his balance before trying his legs again, and this time he felt more sure of his stance, taking a few slow steps towards the desk with the candle and the clothes. He was wearing some tattered cloth pants right now, and his torso was wrapped in fresh bandages. What happened to his old clothes though?

Though his mind was still swimming with questions, Lloyd pulled the fresh clothes on- a simple pair of brown cotton pants and a white long sleeved shirt- before heading towards the door. First and foremost, he needed to see where he was, and see where the others had gotten off to. He turned the doorknob and stepped out into the sunlight, raising his hand above his eyes to block the sun's rays while his eyes adjusted. His breath caught in his throat when he saw what was outside.

This wasn't the field he and the others had been in, not at all. There were mountains in the entire surrounding area, tall purplish peaks reaching the clouds high above. It wasn't particularly forested either, with only the occasional spruce or pine tree here and there. He was standing within a timber-walled village nestled between several of the peaks in a sort of basin, the buildings being constructed with wood in an archaic fashion. It all seemed too unreal to him, like something from a dream or a fantasy game at best.

"What the shitting hell is this?" he mumbled, glancing around quickly at the settlement. There were quite a few people out and about, many wearing outfits similar to his current dress while a few appeared to be wearing… armor? He saw figures garbed head to toe in thick metal plates and strange scales, and carrying massive weapons across their backs. Swords, axes, lances, and what looked to be giant hammers were common sights on those individuals. To Lloyd, it looked like a really strange blend between a Renaissance Festival and an anime convention.

He took a step back and rested his shoulder against the door frame, attempting to take in all the sights of this strange village in the mountains. None of this made any sense at all! He'd never even heard about a place like this before, let alone seen any place quite like it. Was it all just a really weird dream or something? It had to be!

"Hey, look who's awake!"

He'd been so caught up in the sights that he failed to notice the man walking up to his side, and Lloyd quickly whirled in the man's direction and grabbed his shirt aggressively. He didn't recognize his voice, and with how unreal everything seemed at the moment, he wasn't going to take any chances until he got some information.

"Whoa, easy there, buddy! I'm not gonna hurt you!" the figure said. He saw that the man, dressed in a strange outfit of green and purple feathers, like some kind of tribesman or an indian. He even had a massive headdress on that resembled a bird's beak right above his forehead. A spiky yellow shield was strapped to the man's arm, and the handle of a sword with similar colors jutted out from the back of the man's waist. To Lloyd, he looked absolutely ridiculous, though he wasn't about to let his guard down.

"Who are you?" Lloyd asked, tightening his grip on the feathery mail. He thought that they might come free if he pulled to hard, but to his surprise these feathers seemed almost as tough as metal. "And where am I?"

"Alright, one thing at a time, guy," the strange person replied, raising his arms defensively. "Let's talk like civilized people, okay? No need to strangle me or anything. Just have a nice, peaceful chat."

Lloyd eyed him warily for a few moments before eventually releasing his grip and stepping back. He didn't seem like he meant harm… But Lloyd still kept himself on his toes. The man simply smiled at him out of relief, letting his arms drop down.

"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Answer my questions," Lloyd said with an edge to his voice.

"Alright, alright, easy does it," the man sighed. "My name's Mikael. I'm a hunter from Nastre Village, the place you're standing inside of right now. I found you in a cave about a mile outside of town."

"A hunter?" Lloyd asked disbelievingly. What kind of a hunter would wear bright, showy armor like that? And why would their only armament be a giant sword and a shield? What were they hunting, mammoths?

"Well, some of your people have taken to calling us 'Monster Hunters', if that's a clearer description. People like me work to hunt the giant creatures that roam these lands, harvesting them for parts and helping keep our communities humming along. It's probably the most important job in Theron, aside from direct Guild work."

Lloyd stared at Mikael blankly, not having understood almost a single word the man had said. Did he… fight those creatures that had attacked his civilization a few weeks ago? What was Theron? What did he mean by 'Guild work'?

"What's with the look?" Mikael asked, looking Lloyd over. "Kinda creeping me out with the stare."

"I'm just making sure I'm not high or something," the blue-eyed man replied, shaking his head. It seemed like every answer he got only raised more questions, and it left others unanswered. "Alright, I'm sorry, but I have no idea what any of that means. I need straight, detailed answers. What did you mean before when you said 'your people'?"

"Why, the Lost, of course."

"…'scuse me?"

"Ah, right, sorry. Well, here's the gist of it: the Lost- people like you- are people who wake up into our world from all across the map. Apparently some people in the Tundra say you all come out of these weird blue crystals, but I'm not really sure if that's true or not. The Lost claim to come from a destroyed civilization, saying they were attacked by monsters and beasts similar to the ones we hunt today. They also tend to be a little 'mad', though that can be debated with some."

"Are you calling me insane?" Lloyd asked defensively, taking an aggressive step towards the man. Mikael backed up a couple steps and raised his arms at his sides.

"Easy, easy! No, I'm not calling you insane! Even if you _did_ try to kill me the other day…"

"I… what? I don't even remember you at all."

"Well, I was _trying_ to help you, but you took a swing at me with that sword of yours when I got close. You were delirious, wouldn't really respond when we tried talking to you. Brock sort of… knocked you unconscious after that, and we carried you back here."

 _That would certainly explain the headache…_ "…Alright, so the Lost… They come from the past, you said? How many have you seen around here?"

"Hmm… That's a tough one. I think in Theron, there were a couple hundred, though that number is approaching a few thousand now… Around Nastre, I'd say… maybe about a hundred or so? Last ones we found were a pair of people. There was a dude with a machete, and a hot chick with a bow."

A machete and a bow? That must've been Zack and Fala! They were alive!

"Tell me where they are, now," Lloyd said immediately, taking a step forward and grabbing hold of Mikael's feathery vest once more. The man inched away a little, showing a hint of fear in his eyes, and Lloyd realized how aggressive he must have seemed, quickly releasing the hunter's collar.

"Right… Well, those two stayed here about a month or so ago, saying they were looking for a friend of theirs. One of the local Lost suggested they head to the capital, Loc Lac, and seek him out there, and they left not too long after that. Not sure if that was the _best_ suggestion, but-"

"Wait, a full month?! We were attacked at the same time! How come they-?!"

"Dude, calm down!" Mikael interjected. "I don't know anything about how you people come into this world or anything! I'm just telling you what I do know!"

"…Alright, alright, sorry…" Lloyd sighed, leaning back against the doorframe and rubbing his forehead. His whole body was sore, his leg, head and ribs in particular. Mikael seemed to notice how beat up he was, taking a small pack off his back and rummaging through it.

"Hang on just a sec, I've got something that'll help you," the hunter said, pulling out a small jar and holding it out. Lloyd took it, expecting it to be some kind of painkiller, but gave it a puzzled look as he looked it over. The contents of the jar were a dull green liquid, and a small label on the front read 'Potion'.

"The hell is this?"

"A potion." Lloyd cocked his head to side and gave Mikael an irritated look, making the hunter laugh nervously. "Er… Right. It's a concoction made from medicinal herbs and mushrooms. Just drink it, it'll help dull the pain."

Lloyd uncorked the bottle and took a short whiff of the liquid; it didn't smell particularly pleasant, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the nighttime cough medicine he'd had to take when he was younger, so he quickly downed the contents without a second thought. After a moment or two, he felt like most of the pain was numbed out, like it just… went away.

"Y'know, I'd ask how that potion works, but I think it'd just make me more confused," Lloyd saidhanding the jar back to Mikael. "So, how can I get to this... 'Rock Rack City'?"

"Er… It's actually 'Loc Lac'. But I think you're gonna want to rest up for a few days first, buddy," Mikael replied. "That potion might've helped you, but you're barely in any condition to travel across the country. We had a doctor look you over while you were unconscious- Therian one, really good in his field, but if you want a Lost one instead, I'm sure we can find you one."

"Alright, you keep talking like the Lost are some kinda alien race here. Do you… 'Therians' have a problem with them…? Us?"

"Eh… That's kind of a touchy subject," the hunter admitted with a shrug. "I personally don't have a thing against the Lost, but others… aren't as nice. There's a lot of politics involved with it all, and I try not to get too involved in all of that; too much hassle."

"I can respect that," Lloyd chuckled. "So, what, the Lost aren't accepted in Theron?"

"In some towns they are. In others, they get run out on sight. Loc Lac itself is split on the decision; half are for kicking them out of the country, while half are against it."

"Why all the hate?"

"It's mainly because their presence upsets the natives, to be honest… They spread rumors about… well, a certain dragon that attacked them and is the reason they're here, and talking about how they want to fight it and go after it and all that, even though it's illegal."

"Dragon? You mean… That black dragon! The Brilliant Darkness!" Lloyd gasped, pushing himself away from the door. The hunter flinched a little at the sound of the beast's name, taking a step forward and planting a hand over his mouth, shushing him with the other.

"Quiet!" he hissed, glancing around as if he was trying to make sure no one else had heard the name. "Let me tell you one thing, buddy: don't go saying that out loud in public. That's the entire reason the country is so divided on all of this."

Lloyd pulled the man's hand away from his mouth, though he did lower his voice. "And why is that?"

"No one's been able to kill it, and every time it's been attempted, not only do the hunters get killed, but the thing goes after villages full of innocent people!" Mikael replied, keeping his own voice down as well. "Look, I get that you don't know where you are, or where you're going, but you've gotta take a break, buddy. Just rushing back out there is a surefire way to get yourself killed."

"Mikael, can we hurry this up?" another voice called from behind the hunter. A taller man stepped into view, wearing a full suit of red scaled plate armor with a rather fierce looking helm, and numerous black spikes protruding out of several points throughout. It seemed almost draconic in appearance, and as fiery as whatever beast it came from. A large, azure blue… _thing_ was strapped to his back, with reddish looking materials making up some kind of large blade. There was another mounted on the opposite end, made purely out of blue spikes. A red handle was exposed just below his right arm; whatever weapon that was, it definitely didn't make any sense to Lloyd. "The smith needs those Jaggi hides for- Oh, great, the Lost is awake…"

"Ah, right… Brock… Hey, you think I could skip out on a day just this once to help this guy get his bearings a little?"

The man turned his head towards Lloyd, and despite the helm he wore, the blue-eyed man could feel his gaze bore into him menacingly. He scoffed and turned away, heading off towards the entrance to the village.

"Fine, but don't think that attitude will help you pass the Hunter's Exam, Mikael! You're working double time after this!"

"And that was?"

"The guy who socked you in the face," Mikael sighed. "Also the hunter I'm currently apprenticed under. He's not too fond of the Lost… Or slacking off, for that matter. But that's beside the point. Anyways, I don't think I caught your name before. What should I call you?"

"Lloyd. Lloyd Tyrfen."

"Alright then, Lloyd, I think a quick tour of Nastre is in order. Might as well get you accustomed to things around here sooner, right?"

"Right… Say, where are my things? I had a bag and some weapons."

"I stored them at my place. Didn't want you waking up and going on a rampage or something, y'know? We'll stop by and pick them up later. One of the other Lost should probably have your clothes. They said something about wanting to wash clothing from their time for once. We can find them later too. Fair enough?"

"Fair enough. Lead the way, Monster Hunter."

The pair took about an hour walking through the own, with Mikael pointing out shops and taverns here and there as they did. He could see that the buildings were spread out within the walls of the village, which had a distinct oval shape to it. The houses were mostly solid wooden huts and rooms, though a number of them seemed to climb up the face of the mountain to their left, supported by wooden pillars and ropes. It was quite the sight, in his opinion, considering the jagged rocks and stones dotting the side of the cliff. He noted that these houses seemed like they were being forced away from the other, older looking ones.

"What's the deal with that?" Lloyd asked, gesturing towards the structures.

"Well, those are the Lost's 'hive'. The people of Nastre aren't as friendly with the Lost as some of the other places are, like Orage Dell. So, they try to segregate Lost from themselves. Plus, there's also the deal with Silas, and all the awakenings we've had around here…"

"Awakenings?"

"Yeah, those are when a large group of Lost awaken from their crystals at once. One happened… oh, maybe about three years back, and they sent that group off to Loc Lac after a couple days. I hear one of them actually became a hunter, but she kinda dropped off the grid recently… Ever since the incident with the Silver Rathalos, there's been even more heated debates about what to do with the Lost. I'll see if I can't at least get you a room at the inn for tonight, though."

"So, the people hate these awakenings?"

"Mostly due to overpopulation, but there was a lot of superstition about them circulating about a blue light and the tower nearby here too. Course, now that that's all been disproven, the people are a _little_ more tolerant of the Lost. The village is… kinda cramped now, as you can see. But, we've made do with what space we have. Come on, I'll introduce you to some of the other Lost."

The axe wielder lead Lloyd over towards the 'hive', and just by glancing around, Lloyd could tell that there was a difference between Therians and Lost. Tthe Lost had very shifty, uncertain expressions, and a small 'mad' look in their eyes. They seemed to lack the same presence the Therians had as well, particularly the hunters'. Lloyd wondered slightly if he had the same look, though Mikael seemed to know what he was thinking.

"If it makes you feel any better, if I hadn't seen you all dressed up in weird clothes and blubbering like a lunatic, I'd have thought you were a Therian."

"Don't make me want to punch you."

As the two made their way through the Lost side of town, many of the inhabitants greeted Mikael by name, some of them giving him small gifts of fruit or some small gizmo that they hastily explained before going off to work on something else, something Lloyd questioned.

"So, if Therians don't like the Lost, why are they so fond of you? Wouldn't they be angry with the townspeople?"

"Well, they technically still are the minority here, so they take whatever kindness they can get. I know most of them by name, and I honestly find it fun to hang around with them and listen to tales about the Lost civilization. Plus, being angry at people for not accepting you when you appear out of nowhere is kinda… rude, I guess you could say."

"If only everyone was that reasonable," Lloyd mumbled, glancing around as some of the other Lost recognized him as one of their own. He noticed a large machine by one of the taller buildings farther back the way they had come from, which they had walked past rather quickly and had missed the first time through. "What's that pile of junk?"

"That? Oh, that'd be Silas' airship," Mikael said, sighing a little. "But don't call it that in front of him; he'll chew your ear off. I think it'd be best if you tried to avoid him for now. He's not really doing much to help improve the Lost's situation here, even if he says he is…"

"Duly noted."

"So, you got kinda defensive when I brought up the other two Lost who came through here," Mikael said as they continued on back into town. "They friends of yours?"

"Yeah, pretty good ones, too. We got attacked together after almost escaping the… some big dragon that attacked us," he replied, mindful of the townspeople around them. "They're… well, we go way back, and I've really gotta find them."

"If it makes you feel any better, they were just as anxious to go looking for you as they were. Course, the guy was a bit boisterous. Brock and him had a bit of a… 'discussion'."

"That definitely sounds like Zack… How did that end?"

"Well, the chick- what did you say her name was, Fala? Yeah, Fala- she kinda put the beat down on him. Said something about being a black belt in karate. I'll tell you, if he wasn't my hunting master, I would've been cheering as loud as everyone else was. They definitely left a mark here, that's for sure."

 _Still as tough as ever, Fala,_ he smirked to himself.

"Where are we headed now?"

"I was thinking we could stop in and see the mayor. We normally have to report any new Lost appearances to him, and he likes to make sure he meets each one as soon as possible. Maybe he can even offer you some suggestions on how to find your friends."

The pair soon came to a stop in front of a large, stone house in the center of town. It was rather shocking to see a building like that in the village, considering every other one except for the inn was small and wooden. Mikael knocked on the door to the building, which was swiftly answered by a woman wearing a cotton work outfit.

"Yes, Mikael? How can we help you?"

"Would you be able to get me a quick meeting with the mayor, Betty? We got another Lost here…"

"Oh, really," the woman said, looking Lloyd over. "Just one this time? Well, I think he can handle that much at least. Come on in, I'll take you to his office."

The pair followed after the woman, walking through a long hallway filled with paintings of a tower emitting a strange blue light and the village on fire before reaching an ornate wooden door, which she quickly opened after two light knocks.

"Mr. Kelso? Mikael's here to see you."

"Ah, Mikael! Good to see you!" a short, stocky man seated behind a large oak wood desk said, standing up as the two entered the room. He had thinning grey hair and an impressively large grey mustache that covered most of his mouth, and his head was shaped almost like an egg. He wore a rather fancy outfit as well, though given Lloyd's recent 'arrival' in Theron, he couldn't really say whether it was quite fashionable in his eyes. "And who might this man be? Another one of your Lost friends, hmm?"

"Actually, he just woke up about an hour ago," Mikael replied. "He's the one Brock and I brought back a couple days ago. This is Lloyd, the guy those other two Lost were looking for a few weeks back."

"Ah, yes, I believe I do remember them… Was it… Faak and Zala?"

"No, Zack and Fala," Lloyd corrected, slightly amused at the minor mix-up.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry; I have to remember every face in the village, after all! I only saw them twice, maybe. They insisted on heading off to Loc Lac in search of you as soon as we treated their wounds. Quite a cruel bit of irony that you were that close to them all along, no?"

"Tell me about it… How soon can I get a way to follow them?"

"Straight to the point, eh? Hmm… that's difficult to say for certain. I hear tell that Silas is planning a test flight of that strange contraption he calls an airship soon, but I personally wouldn't want to be anywhere near that thing when it gets off the ground. Still, if you could wait a few weeks, perhaps it would be ready by then. Alternatively, you could accompany a trader en route to a city on the edge of the Great Desert, then take a ship to Loc Lac, but that is far more dangerous, and would take almost as long as the wait here, if not longer."

"Damn… Are there any traders here? I'd prefer to get moving as soon as possible. I'm not one to sit around doing nothing for that long."

"I can take a look into that," Mikael said, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb. "I know someone who'd probably be willing to help out."

"Then I leave that to you, Mikael," Mayor Kelso replied. "You may go whenever you think you are able to, Lloyd. Now, I'm afraid I must send both of you off now; I have a rather important meeting in five minutes, and I cannot afford to be late. Best of luck to you!"

"I kinda expected him to be different," Lloyd mentioned as they stepped outside of the manor. "Little, I don't know, harsher?"

"He's pretty lenient when it comes to the whole situation. He doesn't harbor much of a vendetta against Lost, but he can't do as much for them as he'd like considering half the town does. So, you could just say that the quicker he handles an issue the better for him. But enough politics, I think we should get you a more substantial place to rest for the time being. That shack isn't exactly 'homely'."

"Wait, didn't you say you knew someone that could get us on the road to that… Rock Rack place?"

"Again, it's 'Loc Lac'. And while I did say that, there's no way we're getting on the road that fast, man. Plus, you look about ready to keel over."

"I feel fine, Mikael. We gotta get going as soon as possible."

"Lloyd, there's no rush," the hunter argued. "If they're in Loc Lac, chances are they won't be heading anywhere for a while. It's a big city. Plus, since you're insisting on going with a trader, there's a much larger chance you'll run into trouble on the road. Monsters, bandits, you name it. Does that sound like something you want to get wrapped up in without being prepared for it?"

"…Bah, fine… Two days at most, but then we're moving."

"Yeah, and about the whole 'we' thing… I might not be coming along."

"Why not?" Lloyd asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I'm only an apprentice hunter… I haven't even earned my Journeyman's License yet, let alone passed the exam, so I'm not really allowed to travel without my instructor. And, as I'm sure you saw, he isn't exactly friendly towards the Lost, so…"

"Just my luck… Are there any other hunters in town that'd be willing to help me out?"

"Not in this town, I'm afraid. A lot of the hunters are a bit… miffed, shall we say, since the last time some Lost got involved with the village, they ended up slaying a Silver Rathalos. A lot of other hunters wanted a chance like that, and they feel like the Lost stole it from them. Even if no one actually knew there _was_ a Silver Rathalos…"

"For the love of- Why do so many people have this macho attitude over shit like this?!"

"It's a cultural thing, I guess. You must not be used to it?"

"No, I'm actually extremely used to people acting stupid when they don't get what they want. I just thought things might seem a little different after… How many years have I been asleep?"

"You're asking me that question? I'm barely even eighteen, man!"

"That's eighteen more years you've spent in this… Hunter world than I have."

The green-armored hunter sighed and rubbed his temples, as if trying to think. "Let's see… Last time I remember hearing a scientist talking about this, I think he said it was a couple thousand years, but there's no way of knowing if that's true or not. He mentioned it might even be more than that. A lot of the stuff the Lost say seems kinda… out there."

"And waking up in this world isn't any weirder?"

"The world seems pretty normal to me, Lloyd," Mikael said. "You just gotta get used to the change."

* * *

The next day was spent gathering materials for the trip to Loc Lac. The entire time, Lloyd was dumbstruck by the things he saw. The massive carcasses of creatures hunters had slain being carted into town- some being the same as ones that had terrorized his civilization- and even a few that appeared to have been captured alive were probably the most awe-inspiring.

The weapons and armor the hunters wore were next. Mikael's feathery suit –made from a creature he called a Qurupeco- wasn't even close to the most impressive. He saw men and women dressed in suits of different colored scales and hides, spikes adorning the shoulders or helmets, thick plating, chainmail… Everything looked incredibly durable, even the ones that had large dents or gashes in them from the fights the hunters got themselves into.

And the weapons! Most of these things were bigger than Lloyd himself. He'd thought Mikael's axe was a bit large, but he'd seen someone trotting around with an absolutely humongous sword made of some kind of metal hanging off his back. How anyone could even lift a weapon that size, let alone swing it effectively, left him completely dumbfounded. He'd seen lances almost twice as tall as he was, shields wider than his shoulders, bows longer than anything he'd seen in his time, and curiously enough, firearms almost as big as he was. Though he'd been very sarcastic towards Brock when he had come to find Mikael the day before, he had to admit, these hunters were nothing to make fun of, especially from his perspective. A katana and a pistol really didn't seem all that special compared to these broadswords and cannons hunters were lugging around without any effort.

Lloyd was also struck by how simple things seemed in Nastre itself. From what he'd heard, this was one of the larger towns in the surrounding area, yet it didn't come close to matching the towns he remembered from his civilization. The only vehicles he saw were the occasional wagon or carriage rolling by, usually pulled by large dinosaur or mammoth-like creatures. The markets were very basic as well; unlike convenience stores and such, these were open air stalls that he could just walk up to and browse the wares. Mikael loaned him a few coins he referred to as 'zenni' which was the currency Theron used, and while Lloyd never understood why a few potions and bandages cost him almost five hundred, he figured it was just a difference from the currency he was used to. There was another country he'd been to that had a similar style, though he didn't exactly remember it.

In fact, a lot of things seemed hazy to him, looking back. He remembered the day he and his friends had been attacked by that dragon to a degree, but things before that, not so much. He had a vague awareness of the cities and businesses, but it seemed like a lot of details had been lost to him during all those years. That, or they just sort of came and went. It was a rather strange feeling trying to piece those memories back together. He was just glad he remembered who _he_ was; apparently a few Lost had awoken with complete amnesia, while others seemed to remember way more than he did about the old civilization than he did. A few of them were impressed when he noted his former profession as a photographer, stating something about it being a 'forgotten art' in this age, though Lloyd was quick to back out of that conversation before he had to explain much more.

He wasn't quite sure how or why, but for some reason he'd been feeling a lot more defensive about himself since awakening. He found himself taking offense to completely harmless sentences on more than one occasion, and a few times he even caught himself glaring at people who looked at him funny. He'd never been one to act like that before, but even his actions towards Mikael the day before reflected that; he'd practically interrogated Mikael when the hunter was just trying to help him out, which made him feel rather guilty. He'd apologized to the man, and while Mikael had been understanding of the whole thing, Lloyd still couldn't help but feel like there was something… wrong with him.

He figured this might've been what the doctor he'd seen the day before meant by the Lost being afflicted with a 'madness' of some kind. It was apparently different among individual Lost: one could be completely silent and never speak again, while another could start randomly attacking people at the drop of a hat. Lloyd was just relieved to hear that his seemed to be on the lower end of the spectrum, considering some of the rumors he'd been hearing about some fellow named Harker nearly blowing up an inn during an 'experiment'.

Later on in the day, Mikael had met up with him at the small hut Lloyd had been allowed to occupy for his stay in Nastre, carrying a sizable box along with him. The hunter revealed that it was an older suit of leather armor hunters usually wore when gathering materials or mining ore, and that he was giving it to Lloyd for his trip.

"I'd have gotten you something a bit heavier, like chainmail or even hunter armor, but that all seemed a little bit too heavy for the amount of traveling you'll be doing," Mikael had said. "Leather is far from strong, but I'd say it's a step up from the stuff you have."

Still, Lloyd allowed some of his vanity to get the better of him; instead of switching everything he had out with his new armor, the man kept his boots and hoodie, and opted not to wear the peculiar spec-like headgear that accompanied the armor. He considered keeping the Kevlar vest from before, but the knowledge that firearms were the least of his worries now, as well as the fact that it was already pretty damaged from the car crash was enough to convince him to drop it for the leather vest. That didn't keep him from tossing any of his old clothing, though; while it was completely vain at this point, he _had_ been wearing his favorite outfit before all of this, and it would be a shame to just never wear it again.

The day after that, Lloyd spent most of his time waiting around the Hive, talking with the other Lost infrequently and waiting on the trader Mikael had mentioned was coming through. Unfortunately, the green-garbed man had refrained from actually telling him what this trader looked like, so he was completely in the dark about who this guy was or what to expect.

It was just after noon, while he was discussing some of the elements of dark room printing with a couple other Lost, that he felt a quick tap on his shoulder. He turned to look at who had done so, only to find empty space. The second after, he felt a tap on his other shoulder and heard a short giggle, causing the man to sigh in irritation.

 _I thought people quit doing this as soon as they hit puberty. Clearly, I was wrong._

Lloyd turned around fully, intending to shoot the driest look he could muster at whoever was pranking him, though he let out a short gasp as he came face-to-face with a young woman. He stumbled back a step in surprise with a slight yelp, causing her to laugh uncontrollably.

"That trick worked like a charm!" she said after several moments, wiping her eyes. "Man, I just _love_ learning these things from Lost! I didn't think I'd ever meet one who'd fall for it though!"

"Er… Right… Who are you?"

"Didn't my little brother tell you? Ugh, he can be _such_ a pain sometimes… I'm Selipa! The trader who also happens to be your ride to Loc Lac!"

Lloyd hadn't quite known what to expect, but he was completely unprepared to learn that the trader was actually a young woman, least of all Mikael's sister. She stood about a head shorter than Lloyd, and she had a relatively curvy figure as well, which was plain to see from her outfit. It was quite similar to the other villagers- a white long-sleeved top, brown pants and sandals- but her shirt had been cut short, exposing her midriff, and her pants had been cut short as well, ending about three-quarters down her legs. She had a bright, cheery face and a darker, tanned complexion, as well as a pair of yellow eyes that stood out from her long black hair, which she kept braided over her right shoulder.

"You? You're the trader? …The trader _is_ you?"

"Uh, yeah, is it that hard to see?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. "My carriage is right behind me!"

Lloyd looked over the woman's shoulder; sure enough, there was a large, dark brown wagon with a tall white canopy over the back with an intricately painted insignia on that resembled a bird of some kind. A fluffy brown creature- which he'd learned was called a 'Popo'- was tethered to the front of the carriage, quietly biting at a patch of grass below its head.

"Like it?" Selipa asked, jutting her head into his vision. "I painted that design myself! Took almost two weeks to get it right, but am I ever proud of it!"

"Eh, yeah, it looks great," he replied, still trying to comprehend what exactly was going on. "Er… Sorry if it sounds rude, but I was honestly expecting someone a little… I dunno, older?"

"Oh, don't worry, I get that all the time! Besides, as long as we're being honest here, I was expecting someone a little taller! Guess we'll just have to make do with what we've got, huh?"

It took about two hours before Selipa was finally ready to get moving. She mentioned having to make a couple deliveries around town, as well as wanting to visit her brother for a while before getting on the road again so soon. She said specifically that she'd smack Mikael for not mentioning her sooner as well, though Lloyd wasn't quite sure how to respond to that.

Once she was all set, though, Lloyd carried the box containing the few things he owned out and packed it into the back of the wagon, strapping it down with a few thick leather straps and taking a seat at the front of the wagon beside the trader. A few of the Lost, as well as Mikael and Mayor Kelso, came out to see him off and wish him luck in finding his friends, and after a few quick 'so-longs' and a couple waves, the pair were on their way out of the village, heading down a long path that lead between the mountains surrounding the village.

"Ah, it's so nice having some company again!" she said when they were well outside the town walls. "I've been having to make short stops between the nearby villages since my escort got wounded on a hunt a couple weeks ago. I'll tell ya, a few hours on the road each day, and no one but a giant walking furball to talk to? Kinda drives a girl nuts."

"I can believe that. I used to hate having to drive between states on my own for work before I finally managed to get a steady job," Lloyd mused, nibbling on a piece of jerky he'd bought back in Nastre. "'Course, that was… well, a pretty long time ago, I guess."

"Back when you were still in your civilization, right?"

"I… guess that's the best way to put it… Wait, you actually believe that?"

"I look at the whole 'Lost' thing kinda like this: people are randomly popping out of weird blue crystals around the country, all of them dress funny, and most of them have something to say about some long-forgotten society they belonged to. Aside from that being waaaay too coincidental, I think it's more fun to think they all came from the past!"

"More… fun?"

"Yeah! I mean, who doesn't think that it at least makes for a cool story? I'll bet that ninety percent of the people you could ask would say the same thing if you just switched a couple words around. Y'know, make it seem like it isn't the Lost you're talking about."

"Well, I guess the idea of time travel _is_ pretty neat… Then again, I wouldn't exactly want to go through all of that shit again. I've dealt with enough dragons and raptors as is."

"Hahah, I'll bet you have! Well, why don't you tell me something about yourself for starters?" Selipa asked as they rounded a turn. "I've heard lots of cool things from some of the Lost. What was your job? Were you one of those guys who delivered stuff and wore really short shorts?"

"Uhm… No."

"Then what did you do?"

"How do I explain… Well, the simplest term would be 'photographer'. Basically, I went around taking pictures of things."

"Why would you take pictures? Wouldn't the owners get upset?"

"What- no, I don't take them _from_ people, I basically capture them myself using a camera."

"A camera? What's that like?"

"It's a little box device with a lens attached to it. You just point it at something, push a button, and bam, you have a picture."

"Wait wait wait, so… You don't have to _draw_ pictures yourself? The little thing just does it all for you? That's incredible! What do the pictures look like?"

"Pretty much just like what you can see normally," Lloyd replied, glancing over to the side as a small flock of birds flew out of the tree they were passing under. "A photo is really just a captured moment in time."

"Wow… I mean, I've seen some artists that can paint some pretty realistic looking stuff, but you can always tell it isn't quite real. But you say these things are as real as that tree or that stream over there?"

"Yeah. Trouble is, the camera can't really capture _everything._ You only get little snippets from it. But, it's up to the photographer to bring out the elements of subject and make that little snippet into something someone might want. Heck, I even made money off a picture of a tree branch once."

"Oh, nice! What made you want to take a picture of that?"

"Well, I just sorta take what I can get," the man shrugged. "I'd just look at something and, I dunno, _see_ something special about it. Really, it's completely random. Some of my photos turned out to be complete garbage, but others were pretty darn good. Hell, I even kept a bunch of 'em if I thought they were that good. ...Great, now I miss my studio…"

"Ah, sorry if I'm getting too nosy!" she chuckled sheepishly, spurring the Popo on as they came to the base of a steady incline. "I guess just hearing about all these different jobs and stuff from different people makes it easier to see where they all came from, y'know? Especially you Lost types. I'd give anything for a chance to actually see what all of that stuff was like for myself."

"Don't worry about it. If anything, I'm just glad that you don't have a burning hatred of my guts for no reason. Some of those Lost haters were downright nasty."

"You don't even know the half of it. A few days ago I saw a bunch of hunters bullying a Lost merchant who was just trying to set up his own shop. Place was trashed by the time any Guild officers showed up. I guess it was lucky that any officers showed up at all, though."

"Jeez, even law enforcement is against us? God, now I know things are messed up… I really hate politics."

"Aw, c'mon, now you're sounding like an old grouch! How old are you anyways?" Selina asked.

"Twenty-three… Er, wait, gotta factor in that time I spent sleeping in that crystal. Two-thousand twenty-three years old? Give or take a few millennia? I guess I qualify as an old grouch then."

"Oh, ha ha. I'm not counting nap time, so you're twenty-three," the trader smirked. "I turned twenty-two a couple months ago. Got a brand new wagon from my Papa, the cover came from my Mama, and my brother got me a couple bars of soap."

"Wow. I didn't take Mikael for a skinflint."

"Nah, he was just a little tight on money after moving to Nastre for his apprenticeship. Besides, they do make some nice soap there! It's the thought that counts. What about you, Lloyd? Any family?"

"Well… I'm not quite sure right now. After everything went to shit, I lost contact with my parents, and last I remember seeing my brother, he was running down a street guns-blazing at a pack of those… Jaggi things. I don't know if they all made it here or what…"

Lloyd allowed his head to hang slightly at the thought of his family. What were the chances they had even survived? As far as he knew, the only thing that led to him being targeted by that dragon was dumb luck, if he could even call it that. Apparently it had captured hundreds or thousands of Lost, but there were billions of people back then. How likely was it that his family had been a part of the lucky ones?

"Hey, uh… sorry if I just brought up anything painful," Selipa said a moment later, snapping him out of his trance. "I was just trying to make conversation, so…"

"Water under the bridge," he sighed, trying to find something else to think about. "So, uh, what's the next town we're heading towards?"

"Just a small stopover village called Aries Town. There isn't a whole lot there, but it's where the third member of our party is waiting for us!"

"Third member? What do you mean?"

"You didn't think we'd be going all this way without a hunter, did you? I can handle a few Jaggis and some Neopterans, maybe a Ludroth or two, but anything bigger and I'd be in huge trouble! And don't even get me started on bandits. That's why I've been sticking to the safer routes the past few months."

"Huh, guess I hadn't thought of that… This hunter is going to hate my guts either, right?"

"Not unless you piss her off enough, she won't. Her name's Rosa, by the way. And, between you and me, do _not_ agree to an arm wrestling match with her. She will cheat, and it won't be pretty."

"I'll... keep that in mind. About how long until we arrive?"

"Hopefully no more than a day or two, three at the most. The nearest port town will take about a week and a half minimum to reach, but it can take longer, which is why I have so many provisions back there. You… aren't that big of an eater, are you?" she asked, giving him a nervous glance.

"If it isn't a cheeseburger, then no. I generally keep my portions small. Besides, I still have some food of my own in my bag... actually, now that I think about it, did that stuff expire?"

"You made it through two-thousand years without a wrinkle, and you think the stuff you were carrying went bad?"

Lloyd stopped for a moment and blinked twice. "You bring up an excellent point there, Selipa."

The katana wielder reached back into his bag and shifted through the contents, grabbing one of the granola bars from within and pulling it out. As he did, his hand brushed against a hard, rectangular object, and he raised an eyebrow as the device slipped out of his bag.

His phone! He'd completely forgotten about it! For a brief moment, Lloyd was excited at the prospect of being able to call Fala or Zack, but then he remembered that the chances of getting cell reception in a place like this would be about less than zero, even if he _was_ back in his time. Still, he knew he had some old photos stored on the device of himself and his friends. Maybe those could help him remember some of the fuzzier details from his time. It was like a little piece of his old world. He'd need to be careful with the battery though; after powering it on, a quick check showed that it only had about seventy percent left, though all things considered, he was lucky he even had a charge at all. A two-thousand year battery life was the last thing he expected when he bought the thing, even if it could last more than a week with a full charge.

"Whatcha doing back there, Lloyd?" Selipa asked, tapping his knee a couple times. "I thought you were just looking for a snack!"

"I found something else, too," he replied, sitting back up with the phone in one hand and the granola bar in another. "Tell you what, when we stop for the night, I'll show you a couple photos I have from my time."

"Wait, you actually have some?! How?! Where?!"

"On this little thing here," Lloyd said, lifting the phone a couple inches higher as he tore open the granola bar wrapper with his teeth and took a bite. "I'd love to show you now, but it isn't safe to drive with a phone in your hands, regardless of what you're actually driving."

"Why don't you take the reins? I'd love to see them now too, y'know!"

"I don't know how to drive this thing! I'm used to pedals and gearshifts, not ropes and giant walking furballs!"

* * *

 **Author Notes: Please review! Now this is the true start to Driven's story! Chapter 1 was more of a prologue than anything, as enjoyable as it was to write a modern-style setting for once. I'm more of a fan of these kinds of settings anyways, so familiar territory, here we come!**

 **Something I realized after reading TLC was that we never really got to witness an awakening from a Lost's perspective. I PM'd with dashboardgecko quite a bit over those details, and came to the conclusion that not only was it an incredibly disorienting experience, but that it would likely leave the Lost with very scattered memories and thoughts depending on how well their mind survived the period spent inside the crystal. That was something I had to consider with Lloyd's character though: what kind of madness would best fit a character like him? Well, if you'll recall, he's a photographer, or an artist of sorts. While it's an important part of the creative process, artists don't necessarily like their work being criticized. Ergo, Lloyd gets defensive when he feels he's being attacked or 'critiqued'.**

 **Another point I wanted to address was the stuff a Lost could potentially bring through time with them, and if it would survive or whatever. Food and drinks was easy enough, considering the Lost themselves were unaffected appearance-wise, but what about electronics? Batteries might still drain, right? Well... Apparently they actually wouldn't if they were turned off. Funny how that works, huh? Reminds me of a DLC chapter I proposed to gecko some time ago, where Harker came onto an old worn out 3DS from his time and managed to fix it and play Monster Hunter on it.**

 **And of course, another fun aspect of this story was making not just the Lost characters, but the Therian ones as well. I originally planned for the trader character to be hostile towards the Lost and eventually come around to Lloyd's presence, but I had some difficulties figuring out how I could really make that work along with everything else I have planned. So, I settled on the idea of Selipa's character, and she's pretty much become one of my favorites already. I have a hard time deciding whether or not I like her more than Rosa, though... You'll just have to see what she's all about next chapter!**

 **Playing: Hyrule Warrriors Legends, Super Smash Bros. 4, Fire Emblem Fates**

 **Watching: One Punch Man, Silver Spoon, Archer, Noragami**


	3. Chapter 3

**The Lost Civilization: Driven**

 **By: Thomas A. Hawk**

 **Edited by: dashboardgecko**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Monster Hunter. The rights of the game belong entirely to Capcom. This is a fanwork taking place in the setting of The Lost Civilization, another fanwork of the Monster Hunter games. The world and its characters, aside from those newly created for the sake of this story, are property of dashboardgecko**

* * *

Chapter 3- The Hunter

Lloyd grunted in pain as his head bumped against a box, jarring him awake. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he pushed himself up. He and Selipa had been on the road for about a day now, and since he'd been up late the night before keeping watch of their camp, the trader had suggested he catch up on some sleep in the back of the wagon. However, the sudden stop of the carriage had caused the contents to shift around, rousing him from his slumber.

He was about to ask why they had stopped before he heard footsteps moving around outside of the canopy: two pairs on the left, one on the right. He heard a gruff voice from the front of the carriage a second later.

"Let's see if she's got anythin' worth lootin', boys! Lady, if you know what's good for you, you'll step down from there without a fuss."

 _Great, guess she wasn't lying about bandits,_ he thought, gritting his teeth and clutching the handle of his sword. _Didn't she say these parts were safe though...?_

"Gotta say, I'm surprised there was a trader moving around here without an escort," a voice outside the back flaps grunted. "Damn stupid move if you ask me."

"Are you complaining? Just makes things easier for us. These are the perfect parts to set up shop, after all," another voice, significantly higher in pitch, replied. "Even for a small party like us! I bet we'll make a real mint off of all this!"

"Quit yer yappin' back there and start lookin' for somethin' worth sellin'!" the man out front barked. "Quicker we get this done, the better."

Lloyd grinned slightly as he saw a gloved hand grip the flap before him, crouching slightly as he readied himself to jump out the back. They had no idea he was there! This was the exact same scenario that he and his friends had gone through once before, back in one of the cities they had been moving through. Of course, Zack had been the one to bail them out that time… But Lloyd always did think of himself as a visual learner.

As soon as the flap was pulled away, he leapt out of the wagon with his leg extended, driving his heel into the forehead of the unsuspecting marauder just as he poked his head in. The blow knocked the man back several feet onto his back while Lloyd landed on his feet, right next to another one of the bandits. They were only wearing light armor, with metal breastplates or thick leather pads here and there. Plenty of gaps.

"What the f-"

Before the man could react, Lloyd threw his right hand into the side of the bandit's face, following up with a quick jab from the left and an uppercut after that. As the man stumbled back, Lloyd lifted his foot and drove it into the bandit's ankle, causing his leg to crumple beneath him with a pained groan. The blonde-haired man took a short step back and spun about, slamming the back of his other foot into the marauder's head, knocking him to the ground a few feet to the side.

By then, the third bandit had gotten over Lloyd's surprise appearance and drawn a large, single-edged blade with a noticeable curve along its length, as well as a small claw jutting out above the grip. Selipa carried one in her wagon too; it was the basic sword many hunters apparently started out using. The bandit rushed him from behind, raising the blade above his head and slashing downwards at his back. Lloyd spun about as he approached, drawing his own blade from its black sheath and striking the side of his attacker's knife with it, deflecting the blow in the nick of time.

Lloyd gripped the handle of his katana with both hands and took a step forwards, swinging his blade at the man's shoulder, but the bandit had recovered quickly enough to pull his own sword up in time to lock blades with him. Lloyd let out a startled gasp as the man easily threw him off, causing him to stumble back a few paces to keep his footing. This guy didn't look that much stronger than Lloyd, yet somehow he was almost as strong as Zack!

Before he had a chance to question that further, though, the bandit rushed him again, forcing Lloyd to raise his blade to block a slash aimed at his side. He kept on the defensive while the bandit swung at him, trying to find a good opening to counterattack with. The bandit's swings were powerful, but they were incredibly wide as well. He didn't have much training, that much was certain.

As the bandit took another swing at his side, Lloyd allowed his blade to shift slightly right as they came into contact with one another, causing the marauder's knife to ricochet off of the katana's side. Lloyd threw his arms out, pushing the man's blade away from him and throwing him off balance in the process. Taking the blade into a reverse grip with his left hand, Lloyd thrust his arm forwards, driving the pommel of his blade right under the marauder's breastplate with enough force to make the man double over, coughing violently as the blow winded him.

In the meantime, Lloyd hopped back a couple steps to put a little distance between them. He briefly considered running the man through to save himself the trouble, though he decided against that quickly. While he wasn't entirely opposed to taking lives anymore, he didn't exactly like having to clean human blood off his sword. Plus, he felt the last thing he should do as a Lost is start killing people when he could incapacitate them instead. It really wouldn't help the whole 'madness' stereotype.

Instead, the photographer leapt forwards at the man just as he was glancing up. The bandit's eyes widened in shock just before Lloyd drove both of his feet directly into his chest, dropkicking the marauder across the road, his head smacking against a tree as he fell backwards. Lloyd landed on the ground with a loud thud and a grunt of pain.

"And people said wrestling was fake," he gasped, pushing himself up and glancing around. The three bandits were all lying about on the road, writhing about and groaning in pain as they slipped into unconsciousness.

"What the hell just happened back there?!" he heard the voice from before shout, as well as a startled yelp from Selipa. "Whoever's back there, show yerself, else the girl gets it!"

Lloyd unholstered the pistol strapped to his right leg as he rounded the corner, pointing the firearm at the last bandit. The man was standing directly behind Selipa, holding a short dagger to her throat and using his other hand to hold her arms in place.

"Could you kindly let my friend go before I have to kick your ass too?" he said, aiming the gun at the man's head. Still, it was an empty threat; there was no way he was going to try and take a kill shot with her in the way.

"How about you drop your weapons first?!" the bandit sneered, shifting behind Selipa slightly to make himself a smaller target. "Maybe then I'll consider it!"

 _Ugh, this really is becoming a cliché. What did they do in the movies…?_

The photographer glanced down, noticing that Selipa's stance was wider than the bandit's, exposing his leading leg. Lloyd afforded himself a slight smirk before quickly aiming down and firing two shots at the man's leg. The first shot barely grazed the limb, but the second struck true, tearing through the bandit's shin and causing the man to howl in pain as his leg gave in, dropping his dagger and releasing Selipa in the process.

 _Thank god for westerns._

The trader turned as the bandit went down, pulling her leg back and driving her foot directly into the man's face. Lloyd thought he could hear the man's nose break from the force of the kick, wincing slightly at the sound. The marauder let out a short gurgle as he fell back unconscious, a fresh stream of blood dripping from his nose.

"Creep!" Selipa spat, lifting her leg and driving her heel into his crotch for good measure. Lloyd shut his eyes tight for that one.

"Anyways, thanks for the help, Lloyd," she said, stepping towards him while the bandit groveled in agony behind her. "Guess it was a good thing you were hiding in the back, huh?"

"Why didn't you tell me that bandits hung around these parts?" he asked, sheathing his sword and holstering his pistol. "I would've actually stayed awake if I'd known-"

"I didn't know either," the trader sighed, crossing her arms and looking to the side. "These parts are normally really safe! This is the first time I've ever been attacked on this road. I mean, there's only a few of them- probably just a small band that thought it'd be smart to camp out where no one would expect an attack. Almost worked too…"

"Well, what should we do with them? We can't just leave them here to run off again."

"Get some bandages and some rope; I'll show you what I normally do with thugs like them."

And that was how Lloyd ended up watching the four hogtied bandits being dragged along behind the carriage, cursing and screaming other obscenities at them through the rags covering their mouths. If he hadn't already been as devoted to Fala as he was, he might've actually started to fall in love then: Selipa was a badass, that much was certain. That being said, he hoped that his friends hadn't been attacked on their trip to Loc Lac… If he had been sitting up front with Selipa when those bandits jumped the wagon, that encounter could've ended much worse.

"Maybe we should consider getting more than one hunter to guard the carriage when we stop in town," he called to her. "More guards couldn't hurt, right?"

"Are you kidding? Escorts out here cost a ton!" Selina replied, spurring the Popo into a brisk trot. "Half a dozen guards is almost two-thousand zenni, not counting the cost of feeding them. Besides, Rosa's more than enough, trust me. Then again, you aren't much of a slouch either! Where'd you learn to fight like that?"

"Depends. Self-taught with the sword, and I picked up on some hand-to-hand techniques from my brother, same with the gun. Other than that… Internet."

"Internet? What's that?"

"It's… complicated. Remind me to tell you some other time."

The photographer glanced back to make sure the bandits weren't coming loose from their bindings, chuckling to himself as one of them yelped in pain as they bashed their shoulder against a somewhat large rock. Lloyd and Selipa had taken all of their gear, save for the clothes on their backs, and thrown the extra swords and armor pieces into an empty crate the trader kept aside in her carriage. Apparently she actually _sold_ these things at some of her stops, which she ironically summed up as 'robbing the robbers'.

"About how far are we from town?" he called back after a while. "Watching these guys struggle kinda wore out its charm half an hour ago."

"Actually, we're just about there! Take a look out front; you'll see the gates up ahead!"

Lloyd peered over his shoulder through the opening by the driver's seat, squinting his eyes a little. Sure enough, he could see tall wooden walls up ahead, with a red-framed gate leading into the compound. A pair of guards stood before the caged gate, armed with long spears with relatively wide blades at the ends. As they wheeled towards Aries Town, one of the guards stepped forward and raised his hand, gesturing for them to stop.

"What's your business in town?" the guard asked, lifting his face plate as he addressed Selipa. He raised an eyebrow at the sound of the bandits cursing behind the wagon, leaning to the side slightly to catch a glimpse of them. "And... why are you dragging four men behind your carriage?"

"Heffly, relax," the other guard stated, jogging over to his partner. "This is that trader I was telling you about the other day. How's business, Selipa?"

"About the same as always, but I can't really complain. Had a little action about an hour ago: those gentlemen tried to rob us. Mind taking them off our hands? They're a terrible drag on the carriage."

"I'll go send for a few more men, Yale," Heffly said. "You're clear to enter, ma'am, sorry for the delay."

"Don't worry about it!" she called back as the guard went to open the gate for them. "Have to go through this crap at almost every town anyways…" she muttered when he stepped out of earshot.

The gates to Aries Town creaked open, and Selipa spurred the Popo into the village, bringing it to a stop just outside of the barracks next to the town entrance, where Lloyd and Selipa disembarked. A few other guards stepped out of the structure, untying the bandits and taking them off towards what Lloyd assumed was the prison.

The trader hadn't been kidding when she had said that this wasn't a large town; Lloyd counted just over two dozen buildings, arranged around a large open market in the middle of town. The wooden walls surrounding the village rose about twenty feet off the ground, just under most of the rooftops of the buildings nearby, as well as the majority of the treetops visible over the wall. Most of the structures were made from a deep brown wood and had red panels on the roofs, as well as red cloth canopies above a few doorways here and there. Compared to Nastre, though, this town was barely populated, even if it did lie next to a tall mountain like the previous village. There was no Hive, at least.

"So, what do you think?" Selipa asked, prodding his side with her elbow. "Nice little place, yeah?"

"Sure, I guess. Then again, I've been here for all of six seconds, so I'm not quite sure how valid my opinion is yet."

"So, is he the one you were referring to when you said 'us'?" Yale asked, walking up to the pair and removing his helmet. He looked to be in his mid-thirties, with silver streaked black hair and a fairly impressive moustache that curled up at both ends. "Found a new travel buddy then? Doesn't look like too much to me. He isn't a Lost, is he?"

"So what if I am?" Lloyd shot back. "What's it matter to you?"

"Easy there, Lloyd," Selipa said, stepping between the pair. "Yes, he is a Lost, Yale. _BUT,_ he's also responsible for taking out three of those bandits, and helping me down the fourth. He's plenty capable."

"Hmm… I should hope so. The… physical differences between us and the Lost are quite noticeable, so I just wished to ensure that you weren't senselessly putting yourself in danger by hiring him as a guard."

"Oh, he isn't really an escort, even if he is way more fun to keep around than you were," the trader smirked. "I'm just taking him to Loc Lac. We stopped in town to get our actual escort and stock up on provisions before making the trek out to Hasara Landing."

"I see. I do take offense, though; I happened to be a very enjoyable companion for those few months!" the guard huffed. "In fact, if we hadn't been jumped by that pack of Jaggi, I'd probably still be able to act as a guard for caravans, telling tales I learned from my old bard's collection to all who would listen."

"More like everyone you _made_ listen, Yale. The only really interesting story you have is the one with those little ankle biters!"

"Irk… You people have no respect for the classics…"

"Okay, now I'm interested," Lloyd spoke up. "Exactly what is this story?"

"T-that's not-!"

"We were camped out one night in between stops with a party of, I dunno, ten people at most?" the trader began, earning a look from the guard that seemed like a plea to stop. Unfortunately for him, Selipa continued anyways. "Well, Yale here takes off to use the bushes, and next thing we hear is him screaming in the woods, a bunch of Jaggis barking after him. Well, he's running back to camp with his pants around his ankles, and this rookie archer we had brought along panics and fires an arrow. Thankfully, he hadn't pulled the string back very far yet, so the arrow just bounced off Yale's knee and left a nasty cut. He trips and falls, and before anyone can get up to help him, one of the little guys runs up behind him and takes a bite right out of his ass! You should have heard him screaming after that! Anyways, we regrouped and drove the pack off and got him patched up, and since then Yale's been a little reluctant to head off into the woods."

"Huh. Y'know Selipa, you kind of have a sick sense of humor," Lloyd remarked, noticing that Yale's head had slumped down in embarrassment.

"Oh, like you don't think it's worth at least a chuckle too! I'm actually surprised we don't hear that story around the area as much!"

"That's because I usually just tell anyone who asks that I took an arrow to the knee and leave it at that!" Yale grunted. "It's far less demeaning, even if it does get a little old to say all the time. In any case, if you've had your fill of making fun of me, I must be returning to my post now. As for you… Lloyd, was it? Try and find me before you head out again. I'll be sure to repay Selipa's tale with one of my own."

"Don't even _think_ about bringing that up!" the trader said, raising her voice while the guard chuckled to himself.

"Perhaps you should have thought about that before spilling the beans on me then!" Yale laughed as he made his way back towards the village gate. "Ah, and if you're looking for your hunter, she's probably in the tavern still! She's been in there for a couple days now, so I'd suggest picking her up sooner rather than later. She has a habit of leaving quite the mess for that poor waitress girl."

"Yeah, yeah, thanks," Selipa huffed before hopping back into the carriage and spurring the Popo into movement. Lloyd hopped onto the side and scooted into position next to her a moment later.

"You do realize I'm going to want to know about this story even if he doesn't tell me, right?"

"Lloyd, let me be clear on this; the day you hear about that story is the day you end up getting dragged behind this carriage for an hour and a half. And, considering I know where all the bumpiest paths are, you'd best get any ideas about it out of your head."

"I, ah… Alrighty then."

The trader brought the wagon into a small depot across from the barracks where a few of the town guards would keep watch over her wares and untied the Popo from the lead, allowing the furry beast to graze in a small pasture set aside for creatures of labor. Once she had finished that up, she and Lloyd made their way towards the tavern across town. According to her, there was only one tavern in Aries, which was actually surprising; from what Lloyd had heard, most towns had several. They were popular places for hunters to meet up, and they could even sign onto quests there.

"Why only one?" he asked as they stepped through the market, the late afternoon sun casting long shadows across their path.

"Like I said, this is only a stopover town. Hunters are either heading towards Nastre or Loc Lac; there's not much of a reason to stay around here for hunters. Sure, there are some valuable wares and decent smiths, but the real big places to be are in either direction. Plus, this town doesn't even see a lot of monster activity, so quest options are kinda limited in these parts."

"With all those monsters running around, I thought there'd never be a lack for jobs to kill the things."

"It's not like hunters only go out and kill stuff," the trader said. "Believe it or not, but those things are a pretty big part of life around these parts. If the hunters just went all gung-ho genocidal on them, then we'd lose out on resources, food, materials… Stuff that can only be gotten by hunting in moderation. Hunters like to talk big about bringing down beasts four times their size and all that, but they could just as easily go out the next day to pick flowers and catch bugs."

"Pick… pick flowers? What do they need flowers for? And bugs, too?"

"All of those are vital resources that go towards potion making, alchemy, cooking, and even weapon crafting! Some smiths know how to make weapons out of Bnahabra wings, and those are normally fragile enough to snap without any effort!"

"What's a Naha… Bahu… Nabra-"

"Bnahabra," she corrected, annunciating each syllable slowly for him to pick up on. "They're large bug creatures, about the size of your head. Basically, they're giant flies that can sting you. Usually a hit or two shatters their bodies, so they're not really the biggest threat."

"And… people make weapons out of these things?"

"Armor too."

"How the hell do you make armor out of _bugs?"_

"Ask a smith! I just know they _can_ do it, not _how_ they do it."

"This world just keeps getting crazier and crazier…" Lloyd sighed as the pair rounded a corner and approached a two story building.

A sign reading 'Aries Tavern' creaked above the entrance, swaying slightly in the breeze, and Lloyd could see that the lights were on inside, despite its rather destitute outer appearance. He trailed after the trader as she stepped into the structure, taking a deep whiff of the smell of cooked meat and ale that hung stagnant in the air. Lloyd removed his sunglasses and stored them in one of the small pouches on his belt.

"Ahh, glad to see this place hasn't changed a bit!" she remarked, glancing around the room.

Pretty much all of the tables were empty, save for a few off to the side where a few older men and women were eating and talking. There was a half-eaten tray of food on one of the tables on the other side of the tavern as well. The only employees they could see were an older barkeeper and a middle-aged waitress, both of whom were currently cleaning a few tankards behind the counter.

"Where's your friend at?" he asked, scanning the room once again. Unlike the tavern at Nastre, he didn't see a single person wearing some sort of armor or carrying a giant weapon with them, though he did notice a rather large sword made of a massive bone hanging above the bar.

"Knowing Rosa, she's probably…" Selipa's voice trailed off as she began to walk over towards the tray of half-eaten food, while Lloyd followed a moment later. Selipa quickened her pace to the table and leaned over the side, glancing down at the seat as she came to a stop. "Aha! Found her!"

Lloyd raised an eyebrow as he neared, but a moment later the light sound of snoring reached his ears. He stepped up beside the trader and glanced down confusedly at the woman currently snoozing on the bench, an empty tankard loosely in her grasp. She had lighter skin than Selipa, and was a fair bit taller as well. She was also much, much more toned than her friend, though she lacked the same curvature Selipa possessed, instead having a lean, lithe frame. She had a full head of crimson hair, currently tied back into a ponytail, while her facial features were rather sharp and defined, though still managing to appear smooth at the same time. She wasn't wearing any armor or carrying a weapon, instead being dressed in a casual outfit not unlike those worn by the women in Nastre.

"Hey, Rosa?" the trader asked, poking the huntress' leg with her foot. "C'mon girl, time to wake up! You aren't drunk, are you?"

"Is this normal?" Lloyd asked, turning towards Selipa.

"Oh, hunters get drunk and pass out all the time. I was just kind of hoping we'd meet her _before_ she decided to do that."

"Well, maybe we shoul-"

The photographer didn't get a chance to finish his sentence before the huntress shot up in her seat, the wooden mug flying from her grasp as she did. Lloyd barely registered the tankard flying through the air until it struck his forehead with a loud _thwack,_ clattering to the ground while he clutched his forehead in pain.

"Agh! Son of a-!"

"Aww, dammit Sel, you were supposed to be standing there!"

"You think I'd fall for that trick again?! I always figured there's a slight chance of you trying that whenever I walk up to you, and now I see that I was right!"

"Guess I'll just have to find something new to pull on you then… So, who's the scrawny dude I just decked? You didn't bring a human shield along just to avoid getting pranked, did you?"

Lloyd shook his head once after lowering his hands, feeling a dull throbbing in his skull from the impact. There was probably a welt forming already, though his hair would probably help conceal it. As he glanced up at the huntress, he saw that her eyes matched the color of her hair, being the same shade of deep crimson. She eyed him curiously, glancing up and down his body as though she were sizing him up.

"Eh, he's maybe a seven. You can do better, Sel."

"Aww, give him some credit, Rosie. I'd say at least seven-and-a-half."

Were they seriously talking about how attractive he was right in front of him? And for that matter, what kind of 'prank' entailed chucking a wooden tankard at someone's head?

"Anyways, Rosa, this is Lloyd," the trader said, patting his shoulder roughly. "He's a piece of cargo bound for Loc Lac, and we're gonna get him there."

"I'm not a damn package!" he grumbled, rubbing his forehead to try and ease his headache.

"Does he have much of one though?" the huntress asked, making him almost choke on his own spit in surprise while Selipa burst out into laughter at his flustered reaction.

"Haaah, it really has been too long, Rosie," Selipa sighed after recovering from her fit of laughter. Lloyd was still trying to clear his windpipe while the two began talking again. "But no, we aren't _together_ together or anything. I'm just taking him to Loc Lac in exchange for some help along the way."

"Oh, in that case… Eight." Lloyd was just about done recovering before that remark sent him back into a coughing fit too, and the two women laughed in response.

"You are killing me, Rosa!" the trader chuckled. "And him too, from the looks of it. But no, Lloyd's already got a sweetheart waiting for him in Loc Lac."

"Really?" the huntress responded, glancing over at him as he finally started to regain his breath. "In that case… Nine-and-a-half."

"Not… I'm not falling for that… again…" he gasped, resting his palm on the table and easing himself onto one of the benches. "God, I need some water…"

"Oh alright, ya lug. Waiter! Get us a round of drinks! And a water!"

"Be right there!"

"That isn't always how you react to being teased, is it?" Rosa asked with a coy smirk. "Cuz if it is, I am going to have a _lot_ of fun with you, Lloyd."

"She's pretty much always like this," Selipa added, and Lloyd just rested his head in his hand before sighing.

"Figures… I just wasn't expecting it. Just promise me you'll actually try to keep me from choking to death if that happens again, would you?"

"Meh, I'll think about it."

"She means yes," the trader laughed as the waitress brought a tray of drinks over for them. Selipa and Rosa both immediately went for tankards of ale while Lloyd opted for the water first; he hadn't had much to drink today, and liquor was hardly the best thing to have on an empty stomach. Selipa and Lloyd also put in an order for something to eat before they continued their conversation.

"So, uh, Rosa, what kind of weapon do you use?" he asked.

"I'm a big fan of bowguns, actually!" she replied quickly, getting a very excited tone. "I mean, I usually carry a short sword for close quarters fighting, but there isn't anything more satisfying to me than shooting down a flying wyvern or just blasting the hell out of my targets! I actually have four different guns for different occasions, but all of them pack a really mean punch. Only have my Rathling gun right now, but that's more than enough for a trip back to Loc Lac!"

"Oh, and before you ask, I did get that ammo crate for you so you don't run out like that one time," Selipa said. Rosa laughed cheerfully before taking a swig from her tankard.

"Ahh, good to hear! I was worried you would forget again! Just like the last three times!"

"Okay, I _did_ remember them the second time, they just… kinda exploded. Totally wasn't my fault at all."

"I think I'm missing a lot of context here," Lloyd remarked, finishing his water before grabbing the third tankard of ale.

"I told you, Rosie and I have had a partnership going on since… How many years ago was it?"

"It's been five years," the huntress answered, taking a long drink from her tankard and slamming it down onto the table with a long gasp. "That hit the spot… But yeah, I still remember when Sel here was just starting to go out on her own. I was in Nastre for a contract when I saw this little thing loading up her old cart. Said her Papa wanted her to get into the family trading business, but she hadn't even hired a guard for a ten day trip! I offered to help her out of pity, but this cute li'l thing just grows on you! Eventually I just offered to be a full time escort and took hunting as more of a side job."

"I give her forty-five percent of each cut," Selipa whispered, though Rosa must've heard her, since a wide grin split the bowgunner's lips.

"And it's a fine forty-five! You should _see_ how good Sel here can be at earning a mint. I saw her sell an old iron sword to some poor sap after telling him it was a legendary blade from deep in the woods that would bless his fields. Guy forked over half his life savings for it!"

"That… sounds incredibly dubious," the photographer said. "Remind me to never buy anything from you. Ever."

"Oh relax, Lloyd! I wouldn't cheat a friend out of their zenni! Usually…"

Selipa paid for a couple rooms to spend the next two nights in before the group got moving again. While Lloyd wanted to get a move on as quickly as possible, the trader had been quick to point out that if she didn't stop in towns to sell her wares, they'd run out of coin very quickly. He was just glad Aries Town was small; there wouldn't be as many people to sell to, and thus, their stay wouldn't really be that long.

He quickly learned that Rosa- she insisted on being called Rosie, but he was never one to use nicknames- hadn't been kidding when she said that Selipa was a cunning merchant. Within a few hours, she had already managed to earn back a good deal of the money she used to pay for the inn, and by the end of the day, she actually had _more_ than what she started with.

This was partly due to her being a great story teller. She managed to make even the most mundane and simple things seem like they could have belonged to an ancient king, and the funny part was, her prices weren't even that crazy! Or at least, he thought they weren't- the whole zenni thing was still rather confusing to him. She seemed to have relatively fair prices for everything, but Lloyd quickly picked up on how she managed to make so many sales. She would rope a customer into buying something they needed, but would quickly procure an item that she could say was important for the use of the first. This could go on for a while, it seemed: she managed to sell an entire set of silverware, dishes, and plates to someone by just saying 'why not complete the set?'

There were also the tall tales she came up with to sell some of the odder merchandise she had in her wagon. First, there was a mirror that she said could reveal the face of the owner's soul mate if wiped diligently for an hour every day for a year. Then, there was a battered old shield that she said was an ancient relic from a prosperous kingdom that disappeared long ago and was said to bring great luck. The most amusing one to him was the 'mask of dreams': basically it was just an eye mask you wore while asleep, but she pitched it as having a special enchantment that allowed the wearer to choose their dreams.

"Don't these people come back to complain once they find out that stuff isn't true?" he had asked after they had packed up for the first day.

"That's the funny thing: most of the time, they fool themselves into thinking it's true!" Selipa had replied. "I had this young hunter come up to me a few days after selling him a necklace that would attract this girl he had the hots for, right? Thought he was going to chew me out for sure, but there he was with the girl he bought the necklace to try and get! I managed to make a few more sales off the pair too!"

Somehow, Selipa was an expert at not only selling things, but also abusing the human psyche.

Still, he'd known worse scammers back in his time, so he wasn't about to go pointing fingers. Besides, most of the people she sold to seemed genuinely happy with their purchases, so why ruin the image? He even helped out a couple times when she had a harder time coming up with convincing tales to tell, though he attributed that to copyright no longer being an issue. Thus, by blatantly ripping off movies and plays from the Lost's time, he was able to drum up a few sales of his own. Selipa even let him keep those earnings for himself.

When he wasn't helping Selipa at her stall, though, Lloyd was looking into anything else he might want to get for the trip out to Loc Lac alongside Rosa. The huntress was apparently good friends with the smith in town, and was able to get the strange little creature- apparently it was called a wyverian, though to him it just looked sort of like a tan Yoda- to upgrade the gear he got from Mikael. While it didn't feel much different, the armorer had assured him that the 'armor spheres' he had used put his leather gear into the realm of usability. Lloyd didn't quite get it, but he was grateful for the upgrade nonetheless.

Rosa herself never let up on the teasing, just like Selipa had said, but she was actually pretty fun to be around. The three would usually eat together, and Rosa would regale them with a story about one of the hunts she'd been on before. Apparently, she'd been at this hunting thing for a really long time; she became an apprentice in her mid-teens, passed the Hunter's Exam in Orage Dell at eighteen, and for the past seven years when she wasn't helping Selipa, she was off hunting Rathalos', Barioths, Barroths (he didn't quite understand how two different monsters could have such similar sounding names), Gobuls, and all other sorts of beasts he'd never even heard of. The Rathalos sounded familiar to him- one of the towns he and his friends had been moving through had been attacked by a red draconic creature, pretty much devastating a school in the process- but the others were complete mysteries to him.

If nothing else, though, hearing all of these stories were incredibly fascinating. He used to spend some of his free time playing video games, typically medieval fantasy ones with lots of adventure, and most of what Rosa described would fit perfectly with them. It was strange to think that he might _actually_ be living in such a world now, despite not having seen many live creatures since awakening. A few Popos, the deer-like Kelbi, and a small pack of Jaggis were about it, though he had seen some larger creatures in Nastre. Those ones were already dead, though, so it wasn't quite the same. A part of him really wanted to see one of those fantastical creatures for himself, but his common sense told him that he should probably try to stay as far away from them as possible.

Eventually, though, the day came where the three had planned to set off. Lloyd had attempted to locate Yale, but the guard was nowhere to be found. He couldn't help but feel that Selipa might've had something to do with that… Regardless, he and the trader busied themselves that morning with loading up her wagon while Rosa got her armor on. Considering some of the other suits he had seen before, Lloyd was actually rather excited to see what sort of gear she used. She'd mentioned a 'Rathling Gun', but she'd been pretty secretive about what her armor was. Not even Selipa knew what it could be, since Rosa quickly said it wasn't anything the trader had seen her in either. They had just finished loading the last of the crates into the back of the wagon when he heard the door of the tavern swing open, and the two glanced over as the huntress stepped out into the street.

The first thing that went through Lloyd's mind was 'that can't be armor'. The suit was most white, cream, and light blue in color. Rosa's torso was covered- "covered"- with a few plates of tannish material, while a white piece of cloth with blue markings was visible between the sections on either side of her waist. An upside-down teardrop shaped hole was cut through the middle, exposing a part of her toned stomach, while that same cloth was the only thing covering the huntress' breasts. A large blue belt with thick fur tufts on the front and back was wrapped around her waist, and two additional strips of the blue material hung at her sides, with a number of loops to store what appeared to be giant bullets. A pair of baggy tan pants covered her upper legs, while plated white greaves protected the upper parts of her shins, and her feet were covered by a pair of black boots. Rosa's arms were asymmetrical in regards to the armor, with her right arm being mostly exposed from the shoulder the elbow save a single blue strap holding a few more rounds on her bicep. A plated white gauntlet covered her forearm. Her left arm, though, had much more protection: a segmented pauldron covered her shoulder, and instead of just a gauntlet on this arm, she appeared to have a mix of a large plated shield and a claw attached to her left arm. As for her helmet (if it could be called that), she had a thick white plate covering her forehead, and a similar material covered her chin, but immediately behind her forehead plate was a strip of blue material, almost like a hair band, that had a pair of amber-colored tusks attached to the sides, both of which hung beside the huntress' head. Everything else behind that was a massive tuft of white fur, almost like a giant wig or something. It was… impressive, at least, but he couldn't really see how it was practical, considering how much of her skin he could see.

"Oooooh, you finally made that Barioth set!" Selipa squealed, practically bowling Lloyd over as she rushed over to her friend to inspect the set up close. "When did you get the rest of the parts you needed? I thought you said you were injured!"

"What do you think did the injury-ing? High rank quests aren't exactly a breeze, and my old set was getting too worn out to keep up!"

"Now that you mention it, last time I remember seeing that Ludroth stuff, it was kinda falling apart..."

"And what does our little Lost friend think of it?" Rosa smirked, shooting a wink in Lloyd's direction. He flushed slightly- he'd gotten better at handling all the teasing, but he had yet to prevent himself from reacting- and cleared his throat.

"I'd say it puts you at a solid eight-and-a-half," he replied, grinning slightly as the two laughed at the remark. "How the hell is that stuff supposed to protect you, anyways? I don't think you can seduce the dragons with that get up!"

"It's not supposed to be as protective as a blademaster's set, doofus!" The huntress placed a hand on her hip and her other on the strap holding a massive red bowgun over her shoulder. It had fiery red and black scales, as well as several barrels arranged in a similar style to the mini gun Zack had used back in his time when they were fleeing that black dragon. "This is gunner armor designed to be light and mobile. It also helps with holding bowguns: the positioning is too awkward with most blademaster sets to properly grip one. The plates get in the way, and they're too heavy for quicker movements."

 _I guess that kind of makes sense… Doesn't explain the massive cleavage window though. Even Power Girl would be jealous._

"Anyways, we should probably get rolling," Rosa said. "There'll be plenty more time to gawk on the road, Lloyd!"

"You got it, Rosie," Selipa replied, barely containing a snicker as she climbed into the driver's seat. Lloyd simply rolled his eyes at the remark and climbed into the back, while Rosa took a seat beside the trader up front. Selipa spurred the Popo on, and within a few minutes the group was outside of the walls of Aries Town and on to their next destination.

As they traveled along, the photographer listened in on a few of his new friends' talks, sometimes quipping in when he felt like it or they asked him a question. If nothing, he learned quite a few things about each of them: Selipa was apparently an awful cook, Rosa had been in almost thirty-seven different relationships since becoming a huntress (and all of them had at least relatively humorous endings), and they apparently loved to vacation by the ocean. They mentioned a small village called Boma that sounded rather appealing to him, though he could worry about beach trips after finding Zack and Fala.

"Say, Lloyd, apart from your lady friend in Loc Lac, you have any special girls in your life?" Rosa asked, poking her head in through the canopy's flaps. "Tough guy like yourself has got to have had at least a few interesting relationships!"

"Eh… I wasn't much for the dating scene, actually. Aside from my mother, there were three important women in my life: Fala, Rose, and Snow."

"And Fala's the one in Loc Lac?"

"You got it."

"Well, tell me about the other two then! They sound pretty!"

"Let's see… Rose was a lot like you. Had a real thing for red, was kinda loud, and could be really hard to control sometimes. Snow was a lot bigger, but she was quieter and a lot quicker to boot. Not to mention she'd do exactly what I wanted, when I wanted. Handled so well… Gotta say, I'll miss the two of 'em."

"Ooh, were you dating all three at once? You sly dog…"

"Actually, I only had two of them at a time. Fala's my first love, Rose and Snow were second and third. Unfortunately, Rose was getting kinda old and hard to deal with, so I dumped her and found Snow instead. Kinda wish I coulda had her for longer though."

"What happened to her?"

"She exploded."

That simple reply was enough to startle even Rosa, and the huntress blinked in surprise before continuing on, her tone much less cheerful than before.

"Yikes. And how did that happen…?"

"Well, she crashed into a tree and got shot by a fireball."

"O…oh, that sounds awful…"

"Eh, it's no big deal. Important thing is, me and the others managed to get away in time. Even if we did end up getting sent into the future or whatever…"

"That's kinda cold, Lloyd!" Selipa called from up front, earning a slight chuckle from the man.

"Well, they were my cars, so our relationship was purely platonic."

"What's a 'car'?" Rosa asked, cocking her head slightly. "Is that Lost slang or something?"

"No, they're vehicles, like our version of your carriages!" the photographer laughed. "Much faster though, and they didn't need any monsters to pull them either."

"And you named yours?"

"Yeah. Like that could possibly be the weirdest thing you've ever heard…"

"Why name them after women though?" the trader asked. "I hear some hunters name their weapons after gods, or stuff like 'the Eviscerator', but that's kind of different. Didn't that one guy you were with a few years back name his great sword Keith, Rosie?"

"Ugh, that guy was a reeeeeal piece of work," the huntress sighed.

"Well, as a straight man, it made a lot more sense for me to name the thing I'm going to be inside for several hours at a time after a woman."

Rosa covered her mouth in an attempt to hide the snicker that followed that comment before she pulled her head back out of the wagon, and a moment later the two broke out into full on laughter. Lloyd smiled to himself and leaned back on the crate he was seated on as Selipa and Rosa finally started to calm down a few minutes later.

"Hoo boy," the huntress chuckled, taking a few deep breaths while her friend continued to snicker beside her. "This is going to be a fuuuun trip!"

* * *

 **Author Notes: Please Review! And thus our intrepid team is complete! I honestly wasn't sure what I wanted to do with Rosa's character in the original drafting of this story. I had considered (again) making her more hostile towards Lost and eventually coming around to accept them, but I couldn't really get that to work with a character I wanted to be remarkably fun and flirty. I decided on a more neutral stance for her in that regard, where instead of hating or sympathizing with Lost, she just kinda accepts that they're around. That is, unless she gets to know them more personally. Ultimately, she's grown into one of my favorite characters, and like I said last chapters, I don't really know who I like more between her and Selipa. Both are definitely a lot of fun to write, that's for sure.**

 **I admittedly took a couple cues from Rose (The Hunter's Oath version) when designing Rosa, though oddly enough the name was NOT one of them. It was actually purely coincidence! Being a ranged huntress with Barioth armor was the basic framework I had for her design, though she actually uses the Barioth gunner armor (aside from the helmet, which is the blademaster version. I kinda think the gunner helm is ugly) while I designed Rose to use the blademaster set. Y'know, only having a one vowel differences between these two's names is actually very confusing to write... Good thing they exist in separate universes.**

 **Lloyd's first car being named Rose is also a peculiar reference. It's actually based on my first car, a Ford Escape, which I named Rose as well. Guess where the THO character got her name from?**

 **A pretty fun aspect of writing Driven also came with pointing out some of the weirder habits that now exist in the Monster Hunter world. Making armor out of bugs was a prime example, as was actually being able to pronounce 'Bnahabra' (I still kinda struggle with that. Is the 'B' silent, or what?).**

 **And, of course, there's also the fight scenes! This chapter had the first proper one of this story, and while relatively short, the idea was to show that Lloyd is ultimately very competent against human opponents, who he had to deal with a lot more back when the Lost world was being destroyed. He actually has a lot more intricacies to his fighting styles than what will likely be shown, but essentially he uses a mix of real techniques and skills along with several improvised ones. And drop kicks. That being said, it's actually hard for me not to want to use more flashy and over the top descriptions for these things, considering gecko's world is markedly more realistic than my stories. Lloyd seems downright clumsy compared to Wes. I suppose there's a certain charm to that too, though.**

 **Also, we've got a release date on Monster Hunter Generations! Prepare for July 15, people!**

 **Playing: Fire Emblem Fates, Super Smash Bros. 4, Hyrule Warriors**

 **Watching: One Punch Man, Noragami, Bob's Burgers, Silver Spoon**


	4. Chapter 4

**The Lost Civilization: Driven**

 **By: Thomas A. Hawk**

 **Edited by: dashboardgecko**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Monster Hunter. The rights of the game belong entirely to Capcom. This is a fanwork taking place in the setting of The Lost Civilization, another fanwork of the Monster Hunter games. The world and its characters, aside from those newly created for the sake of this story, are property of dashboardgecko**

* * *

Chapter 4: The Darkness

"Hey, could we pull over for a sec? I gotta use the bushes."

"Again? You just went a half hour ago!"

"That was before you challenged me to drink a gallon of water in five minutes, Rosa."

"You didn't have to accept, Lloyd."

"Says the one who insisted that I do it for the sake of entertainment!"

"Alright, fine, but try to be quick. This area's known for having large monsters roaming around, and I'd prefer we not run into one."

"'specially not a Deviljho!"

Lloyd swiftly hopped out the back of the carriage and hurried off into the trees along the side of the road as Selipa began to berate Rosa for thinking a monster that rare would appear around there at all or something. He didn't really pay much attention, considering he had other things on his mind. That was the last time he ever let those two goad him into a stupid contest like that.

The trio had been on the road for a couple weeks now, and it had certainly been an eventful journey. Not even two days after they left Aries Town, their wagon had been beset by a pack of Jaggis. He hadn't been too concerned at first; there were a little over a dozen of the little ankle biters, and one bullet to the brain was enough to bring them down. What really caught him off guard was the leader of the pack, which Rosa had called a Great Jaggi. It was more than three times the size of the smaller ones, and Lloyd had the displeasure of being the one closest to where it had appeared, without any bullets in his handgun.

He supposed that his first taste of Therian monster hunting came when he pulled his katana out to fight the thing off. It was much, much different from fighting marauders or the scavengers back from his time, but fortunately his instincts kept him from getting killed. He even landed a few nasty blows on the thing! That being said, the fact that Rosa was there to bail him out was a big part of it too. Selipa hadn't been kidding when she said the huntress was good. In the time it took Lloyd to shoot down four of the ankle biters, she had already killed twice as many, and she had been the one to finish off the Great Jaggi with an explosive round to the chest after Lloyd had taken a tailwhip to the back and been thrown into the side of the cart, leaving a noticeable mark on both him and the wagon.

Hell, Rosa had bailed all of them out several times. Three days after the Jaggi incident, the group had been stopped by a larger group of bandits, which Lloyd partially blamed himself for; he'd been going through the old pictures on his phone with Rosa, so none of them were watching the sides of the path. However, the huntress' quick thinking let them escape that situation without almost any trouble: after effectively seducing the majority of the bandits, she set off a smoke bomb and promptly curb stomped the whole lot of them. Lloyd and Selipa only had to handle one bandit each.

He had certainly developed a lot of respect for the huntress, that was for sure. Still though, he wasn't exactly impressed by all of her actions. Particularly, her 'idea' to wake him up a few days ago with a blast of Wyvern Fire had left him without a tent to camp out in, forcing him to sleep in the back of the carriage instead. Then there was her idea of fishing. Lloyd had borrowed the rod Selipa had stored in her wagon to try and catch some fish for dinner, and Rosa decided to 'help out' by firing a crag shot into the stream. While it actually did kind of work- half a dozen fish had been thrown out of the stream- the blast had sent one of those fish directly into his face, and simultaneously drenched them both from head to toe. He was just glad he wasn't hit by the one that was covered in spikes, or worse, the one that actually exploded.

All in all though, he couldn't really complain, especially considering how bad his last road trip had gone. At least this time he wasn't being chased down by a giant black dragon. While the two had been wary about talking a lot about it, Lloyd was able to pick up some more information about the thing from his companions. Apparently it was referred to as the Alatreon, and it had been a known terror in this country for many, many years. Even hunting it was illegal, as- just like Mikael had said a few weeks before- every attempt failed, and only served to anger the creature instead, which left nothing but destroyed villages behind. The punishment hunters faced for doing so was pretty severe too.

"I mean, everyone knows the punishment for trying to hunt the Alatreon," Selipa had said a few nights before. "The Guild tosses your ass in jail without a second thought, no questions asked. Sometimes even for life."

"Yikes."

"Well, there _is_ a little more too it than that, Sel. Some more popular hunters that had rumors about potentially going after the Alatreon surrounding them pretty much just lost their drive for hunting for some reason. They only took up quests that involved slaying Great Jaggis or Gobuls at best. Now, I'm not pointing any fingers here, _but_ it kinda seems like the Guild might be doing some work behind the scenes too."

"What makes you say that, Rosa?"

"See, one big thing us hunters love is telling awesome stories about the things we hunt," she pointed out. "That's why ranking up is such a big deal: we get more respect, we become well known, that kind of thing. But try hunting the Alatreon, or just _think_ about it, and the Guild just shuts you down. You're stuck hunting Jaggis and Qurupecos for the rest of your life. No more respect from hunts, no more popularity, and no more hassle with the Alatreon."

"Well, when she puts it like that, it kinda sounds believable... I've heard worse conspiracy theories, at least."

"Hey! I have some pretty solid proof of this! Not that I'll ever bring this forward to the Guild or anything, but there has been a bit of news lately that kinda proves my point. You know who Levin and Ellie are, right Sel?"

"Sure, it'd be harder to find someone who doesn't know who they are."

"Uhm…"

"O-Oh, right, sorry. Lloyd, Levin and Ellie are two of the first members of the Lost to take the hunter's examination and pass. It was a really big deal for the Lost, for obvious reasons. They've been making waves in the hunting world ever since."

"Well, they _were_ making waves. Word on the vine is they had a run in with the Alatreon. They've hardly been heard from since then."

"Uh oh… Well, that would explain the Silver Rathalos incident better."

"You heard about that too?"

"I pretty much live in Nastre, Rosie. That's some of the biggest news we've had around there in years. Still… it's hard to believe they got caught up in all that trouble too."

"I guess trouble just finds them instead."

For some reason, the names of those hunters stuck with him. Levin and Ellie. He didn't recall ever knowing anyone named Levin back in his time-who would even name their kid Levin in the first place?- but Ellie seemed to ring a bell. There had been a family that contacted him a few months before the monster attacks asking for some family photos. What did they call themselves again? The Geisels? They had a daughter named Eleanor, so maybe that's what seemed familiar. Only reason he really remembered them was because of the generous tip they gave him for his services, and because Eleanor had laughed at him when he bumped his head on a lower hanging ceiling.

As he finished up, something off to his right caught Lloyd's eye. The trees opened up into a sunny clearing about ten yards away, and a shiny red object was resting in the grass. He curiously made his way into the clearing; he hadn't seen anything shine like that since back in his time. His eyes widened in realization as he came to a stop by the object and knelt down.

It was an empty soda can! Not only that, but it was that trashy supermarket brand that Zack seemed to love for some reason. He'd been carrying a few of those along with him when they were attacked, hadn't he? That meant he and Fala must've passed through these parts too!

Searching around, Lloyd noticed a few faint traces of an old camp that had been set up in the clearing. He saw a few telltale signs of tents having been pitched here, though he couldn't quite guess how long ago, and there was a circle of stones piled around the center in the shape of a makeshift fire pit, though that too was cold and grass was growing within the charred center of the rocks. Not to mention he could hardly see any foot prints in the grass. At least, none that were human; he saw a few Aptonoth hurriedly leaving through a gap in the trees the other side of the clearing that might've stepped through there. The others must've been here weeks ago… At least he was on the right trail.

"Leave it to Zack to start littering in the future," he mumbled, taking the can and sticking it in one of his belt pouches. As he continued searching around the clearing for any other signs of their passing through here, though, a large shadow passed over the clearing, like an airplane had just flown over. He hadn't heard anything aside from a light _whoosh._ Lloyd glanced up in confusion, seeing nothing but blue sky and fluffy white clouds at first, but then something caught his attention. A large green object flying towards the clearing. It took him a moment to register that it had a very draconic shape, at which point he felt his face pale.

He turned and sprinted as fast as his legs could carry him, hoping to make it to the trees before the beast landed. He'd been standing in the middle of the clearing, right out in the open! He made it within fifteen yards of the treeline before he heard a loud crashing sound behind him, like heavy talons ripping into the earth and thundering to a stop. He whirled around, his heart skipping a beat or two as he came face to face with a massive green dragon. It must've been almost forty feet long, and it absolutely towered over him. What had Rosa said? Red ones were Rathalos, green ones were… Rathian. This was a Rathian.

Something that even skilled hunters had a hard time with.

"H-hey there, big… scary dragon guy- er, lady… Don't mind me, just heading back to-"

Lloyd raised his arms up to shield his face and ears as the dragon let out a furious, earsplitting roar with enough force to make him stumble back several paces. He lowered his arms as the noise died down, grimacing as he noticed flames licking at the wyvern's mouth.

"Aw hell."

He immediately dove to the side as the beast reared its head back and launched a fireball from its maw, wincing as a the fiery object shot past him and burst against one of the trees behind him, instantly igniting the bark. He wasted no time in pushing himself up as the wyvern reared its head once again, and Lloyd just barely managed to throw himself out of the way of the second fireball. The projectile exploded on the grass, sending a wave of heat over him.

Lloyd went for the pistol strapped to his leg, whipping the firearm out and firing several shots at the Rathian's head. The bullets glanced uselessly off of the beast's hard green scales, though it did flinch slightly as one of the shots landed right above its eye. He yelped as the beast began charging towards him, darting to the side in the nick of time to avoid being trampled by the wyvern. He twisted around and fired off two more shots into the Rathian's side as it turned, one of which managed to hit soft flesh. Still, it was hardly a wound; he couldn't even see blood. With a curse he rushed to the side, once more avoiding being crushed below the charging wyvern's talons. He fired three more rounds into the beast as it slid to a halt, but like before, the bullets hardly left a scratch.

"I don't have enough firepower for this," he grunted, dropping the spent mag and sliding a fresh one into place before chambering the first round. Lloyd grimaced as the draconic beast turned towards him once more, dragging one of its feet across the ground and tearing up the grass beneath as it roared threateningly at him. "Could really help to have Zack's shotgun at a time like this!"

He slid the gun back into its holster as the wyvern made another charge towards him. Lloyd began moving to the side, but as he did so, he heard a loud _bang_ from behind him, and a circular object whizzed past him, striking the Rathian in the forehead and sticking there for a moment. The second after, the object detonated in a flash of fire and gunpowder, obscuring the beast's face from view for a moment as it growled in pain, sliding to a stop and shaking its head about. The photographer whipped his head back, seeing Rosa standing at the edge of the treeline, the barrel of her gun smoking from the shot she just fired.

"Lloyd, run!" she shouted, loading a few rounds into the top of her bowgun and cranking the mechanisms back. "I'll deal with the Rath! Go on!"

He turned back towards the wyvern for a brief moment, seeing it was blinking the smoke away from its bright orange eyes. The thing was terrifying to look at. It was way beyond anything he could hope to kill. He wasn't a hunter, he was just a guy who took pictures for a living! Every ounce of common sense he had told him to run and not look back!

But something else kept him in place. It wasn't fear, though. He'd managed to avoid all of its attacks. He'd survived all of that on his own. He'd survived being attacked by the Alatreon itself! He'd survived his civilization's destruction, and all the bandits and raptor beasts that came after him during it! He wasn't just some child who would run at the first sign of trouble! He was a survivor! How could she just treat him like a helpless kid, especially after seeing him hold his own against a monster not even a week before?

He'd show her that you didn't have to be a mighty hunter to tangle with these things.

With that thought in mind, Lloyd pulled his sword from its sheath and rushed towards the Rathian's side, eliciting a startled shout from Rosa. The green scales covering the beast's hide were tough enough to stop bullets, so he wouldn't have much more luck with his sword against those parts. The softer tan hide on the creature's underside, though…

The wyvern twisted its head as he passed, finally having cleared its vision, but not soon enough to halt the man's approach. Clutching his blade with both hands, Lloyd swung horizontally across the beast's neck. The edge of his katana scraped against a few scales, but managed to cut into the Rathian's hide shallowly. He continued his attack by darting between the Rath's legs and slashing upwards, cutting a long, thin line down its belly.

He grunted in shock as the wyvern suddenly pushed off with its wings and took to the air, hovering several feet above the ground. The gust of wind it kicked up in doing so nearly knocked him over, but he managed to remain on his feet. There were several _cracks_ from behind him, and he saw three shots from Rosa's bowgun strike the Rathian's chest, causing the wyvern to flinch slightly before swooping towards Lloyd.

The only thing that saved him then was the simple thought 'get out of the way'. He dove off to the side as the wyvern raised its talons and lunged at the space he had occupied a split second before, sending out another gust of wind as it landed heavily on the ground. Lloyd slammed face first into the grass, but immediately began to push himself up as the Rathian once more turned towards him.

Another few shots from Rosa's bowgun managed to sway its attention, though. Several rounds slammed into the side of the creature's head, shattering a few of the wyvern's scales with a pained whine. The Rathian turned towards the huntress, but she was already on the move, circling around towards the middle of the field.

"Seriously, get out of here! I'll handle this!" she urged, bringing her bowgun around and firing another few rounds, this time aimed at the Rath's wings.

All that served to do was make him want to stay and fight more, though. With the Rathian's attention focused on her, Lloyd made a break for the beast's underbelly once more. The wyvern reared its head and shot a fireball towards Rosa, though she rolled out of the way expertly, bringing her red bowgun around to return fire, but cursing when her eyes landed on him, instead going to load a new set of rounds into her gun from her pouch.

As he came to a stop beneath the beast, Lloyd slashed his katana across its belly, this time cutting deeply enough to draw blood. Releasing his right hand from the hilt, Lloyd thrust his blade into its gut, piercing several inches into the monster's soft hide as he reached for his holster. Pulling the USP free, he fired wildly into the Rathian's underside, emptying the clip in a couple seconds and causing the wyvern to howl in pain.

He yelped as the creature twisted its body around, nearly throwing him to the ground when his sword remained stuck in its hide, prying itself free from his grip. Lloyd let out a pained grunt as the side of the Rath's leg slammed into him, knocking him several feet back onto his side. Shaking his head to clear away the ringing in his ears, he propped himself up on one arm, turning his head to the side as he heard a noise behind him.

The Rathian was sweeping its head towards him, its mouth agape with hundreds of deadly pointed teeth closing in on him. He fumbled onto his side and brought his pistol around in an attempt to shoot the wyvern before it could reach him, but cursed mentally when the firearm only made a dull clicking noise with each trigger pull. He'd used the magazine up in his last attack!

Before the wyvern could bite him, though, there was a loud bang from behind him, and a large bullet found its mark in the Rathian's mouth, causing it to close its maw and stumble back in surprise. He barely even registered what had happened before he felt himself being yanked up to his feet by the small pack strapped to his back, and he turned to see Rosa standing there. To say she didn't look happy was an understatement.

"Lloyd, I swear to whatever god you believe in, if you don't get back to the carriage now, I will kick your ass so hard that neither of your friends will be able to recognize you through all of the bandages you'll be wearing! I can't concentrate on driving the Rathian off if I'm stuck trying to babysit you too!"

"Then don't babysit me!" he shot back. "I can help just as much as one of your hunter buddies can! I'm not defenseless, you know! I lived through shit like this back in my time too!"

"That doesn't mean you're prepared to fight a RATHIAN! You-"

The huntress was cut off as the wyvern let out a furious roar, forcing both of them to cover their ears from the intensity of it. Flames were already licking at the Rathian's lips now, and it looked even more pissed off than Rosa did. Lloyd could still see his katana stuck in the beast's stomach…

He quickly returned his attention to the beast itself as it began to charge the pair. Rosa wrapped an arm around his middle and pulled them both out of the way of the charging wyvern, reaching behind her with her other arm as the Rath thundered past them.

"If you're going to stick around, take this," she said, drawing the sword she kept sheathed on the back of her waist and holding the handle out to him. It was about three inches wide, as thick as his thumb, and as long as his arm, with a red-leather wrapped handle and a dark steel crossguard and pommel. Simple, but sharp. He noticed it weighed quite a lot more than his katana did when he took hold of it, but it wouldn't be hard for him to use it. "I'm not going to argue like this. Just try not to get your stubborn ass killed! Selipa wouldn't let me hear the end of it!"

The two were forced to split up when the wyvern came charging at them again, and as he darted to the side Lloyd swung the huntress' blade against the side of the Rathian's leg. While the blade glanced off of the tough scales covering its thigh, the impact of the heavy blade easily shattered a few of the smaller scales, littering the grass below with tiny emerald-colored shards. Rosa had whipped her bowgun off of its sling and was firing on the creature's head as it turned, landing several shots on its face and breaking off a few more scales.

The Rath launched a fireball in the huntress' direction, forcing the huntress to leap out of the way to avoid the blazing sphere, before storming off towards Lloyd once again. The photographer grimaced and leapt to the side as the creature reared its head, ducking and rolling just in time to avoid the creature's attempt to bite down on him. He still felt his shoulder burst out into pain, though, and with a gasp, he dropped to one knee. The Rath's chin spike had grazed his shoulder, tearing through the sleeve and digging into his flesh. It wasn't a very deep cut, but it still hurt like hell.

Lloyd turned as the wyvern slid to a halt behind him, charging towards it as it shifted its gaze over towards Rosa. With a shout, he slashed the edge of the sword into the Rath's thigh where Rosa's fire had shattered most of the scales, biting into its leg deeply. He quickly swung twice more, each cut leaving a noticeable trail of blood. He hopped back, thinking the wyvern was going to attempt to kick him again, but was surprised as the monster instead thundered off towards Rosa. He chased after the Rath, intending to continue striking it while its attention was off of him.

As he began to close the distance, though, the wyvern whipped its body around, and Lloyd found himself charging directly towards the Rath's face. He cursed as he slid to a stop, thinking the beast was planning to ram into him, but gasped in confusion as the creature instead turned its head to the side and whipped its body around again. Lloyd barely realized the wyvern's tail was hurtling towards him in time and began to drop to the ground, narrowly avoiding the brunt of the blow. However, one of the spikes jutting out from the creature's tail caught the strap on his pack, and Lloyd found himself being thrown across the ground, sword torn from his grasp as he rolled wildly to a stop on his chest almost thirty feet away.

The entire world was spinning as he groggily pushed his face out of the grass, only half aware of what was going on around him. He was alive. He thought he was alive, at least. That was good. Everything hurt though. That was not so good. His shoulder felt damp. Water? Wait, that was blood. His blood. Right. Both of his hands were there. What about his legs? Yeah, those were still attached. He was in one piece, just one really loopy piece.

He heard a few muffled shouts from across the clearing. Why were his ears covered? Wait, they weren't. Right, he was dizzy. That was why nothing worked right. Lloyd shut his eyes for a few moments and tried to focus on regaining his bearings. Slowly, the sounds of battle became clear, and he opened his eyes, relieved to find that the Earth was below him again. Rosa was on the opposite end of the clearing, peppering the Rathian's head with explosive rounds while dodging away from its attacks. Even after seeing her in action before, he was still impressed by how skillfully she evaded the wyvern's attacks and returned fire. It was almost like she'd memorized what it was going to do.

The photographer shook his head and pushed himself up, wincing slightly as his body ached from the effort. Still, he forced himself to take a few steps forwards. He couldn't drop out of the fight now. He wouldn't let himself do that. He wasn't sure why, but something drove him onwards. He reached down and grasped the handle of Rosa's sword and began to make his way back towards the fight, but stopped when he saw the silver blade of his katana in the grass off to the left. It must have come loose from the Rath's body! He took hold of that as well before turning back to the fight and racing over to rejoin.

Rosa caught sight of him as she leapt back to avoid a sideways bite from the Rath, her expression a mix of relief and confusion as their gazes met for a brief moment. A second later, she brought the barrel of her bowgun around and shot what Lloyd thought was the biggest bullet he had ever seen into the top of the Rathian's head before she rushed to get away from the beast's face. The shot broke into several smaller fragments that, upon contacting the ground or the Rathian's head, exploded violently with bright yellow flashes, causing the wyvern to stumble back and whine in agony.

"Attack its head!" she shouted. "That's the weakest part! The scales should be gone now!"

He nodded as he came to a stop in front of the beast, slashing Rosa's sword into the side of the Rath's head as it stooped lower to the ground. The blade cut deeply into the beast's snout with a large spray of blood, and he followed up with his katana, slashing the curved edge across the wyvern's brow. He could feel a strong tug as each blade tore through the beast's flesh, like he was cutting through softer, meatier flesh, and much more deeply too. He brought both blades up diagonally, slicing a pair of lines through the creature's chin, before slamming them both down on its face.

He pulled back from the wyvern's head for a moment as it whined in pain, blinking its eyes to clear away the smoke from Rosa's bowgun and the blood from Lloyd's attacks. Crossing his arms, Lloyd pressed forwards with his attack, slashing an X-shaped wound through the beast's snout before bringing Rosa's sword down on the side of the beast's head. As he pulled his right arm back, he swung down with his left, his katana slicing deeply into the beast's skin. With each swing, Lloyd took a step forwards, and the Rathian backed up at the same pace, confusedly trying to escape its unseen attacker. Each consecutive strike felt stronger, every slash cutting deeper than the last, and he threw more energy into each one, spraying the ground with the wyvern's blood.

"Get! Out! Of! My! WAY!" he shouted, twisting his body around and slashing both swords across the Rathian's face deeply enough to grind against the monster's skull. The beast reared its head back and roared in pain, taking several steps back and shaking its head, whining in agony at the damage he had dealt to it. As he watched, the wyvern glared at him, uncomfortably shifting its yellow eyes between him and the huntress that had jogged up beside him. After a few seconds, the Rath spread its wings and pushed off, rising higher and higher into the air with each beat of its wings, before sailing off towards the distant mountains to the west.

The wyvern had fled.

Lloyd let his arms drop to his sides as he watched the beast fly off, panting heavily from exhaustion. He hadn't realized just how much effort he'd been putting into that fight, but now, he felt sore and tired. Still, he afforded himself a slight chuckle.

"We… won…"

"I've seen worse hunts… But yeah, we did," Rosa replied, patting his uninjured shoulder roughly. "I'm still going to kick your ass though."

His chuckling turned into full on laughter a moment later, which surprised the huntress.

"I just fought a goddamn dragon," he mused, his gaze fixated on the creature's shape fading above the trees. "I fought a dragon, while wielding swords, and I lived. Holy shit… What a world."

That was the last thing he remembered before falling over backwards, exhaustion overtaking him.

* * *

 _Lloyd groaned and pushed himself upright, his head swimming. Where was he? It was really hot, and the ground was like hard stone. There was a kind of electricity in the air too, that kind that sort of hangs around just before a thunderstorm hits. He groggily blinked his eyes open, and a second later, they widened._

 _All around him was a massive pool of boiling hot lava. He was lying on a hardened slab of black rock, on the edge of a tall cliff in the side of a mountain. To his right, several flows of lava spilled over the edge of the cliff on either side of the slab, while to his left, a high wall of the molten orange magma flowed down into the rivers split by the platform. The sky was darkened with black smoke, pierced only by the occasional flash of blue._

 _"Am I… Am I in a volcano?!" he muttered in disbelief. "What the hell… Where is this? Where am I?"_

 _ **You are in my domain, human.**_ _Lloyd whirled around in shock at the voice that filled the air around him, hissing venomously into his head. **You are here because I called you here, because I WILLED you here… and you will not leave until I allow you to.**_

 _It was all too familiar… He'd heard it once before, and once was enough. He fixed his gaze on an outcropping of hardened magma hanging at the top of the lava falls, where a large black shape was slowly stepping over with its massive legs. The large, thick horns atop its head, the giant wings on its back, the glistening black scales, and those piercing red eyes…_

 _"The Alatreon…"_

 _ **That is NOT my name, human!**_ _A gust of white haze hissed from the dragon's mouth as the creature hissed, it's eyes flaring in rage. The creature seemed to seethe for a moment, before a low, dry laugh rumbled across the rocks. **But I suppose it's as good as any. It was your species who gave me such a title, a name to describe the bane of your existence. I MIGHT have been displeased by the name… but I can smell the fear the title invokes in humanity. I can sense the terror and hate the name creates in you with only its utterance… as it SHOULD be.**_

 _ **But who are you, exactly?**_ _Lloyd winced as the Alatreon leapt down from its perch onto the platform he stood upon and sauntered its way over to him. He nervously took a few steps back, only then realizing that he had neither sword nor gun on his person. **One of the… 'Lost', obviously. My little playthings locked away and saved for later. I thought I felt something strange from one of my little toys, a flare of hate and violence through the bond. So you are the one who has been making such a fuss lately…**_

 _The dragon lowered its head and looked him dead in the face with a gaze that could only be described as quizzical. After a few seconds, though, a spark of realization came to the dragon's eye, and it tilted its head back before letting out a sort of guttural laughter._

 _ **Ah, that's right! My SECOND pawn. I'd nearly forgotten you after all of these years. I have been terribly occupied with the first… That infuriating boy Levin…**_

 _"Levin? Isn't he… Hold on a second, you FORGOT about me?!" he shouted. "You went through all of that crap- you put ME and MY FRIENDS through all of that bullshit just to send me into the future, and you FORGOT?"_

 _The beast stamped its foot down beside Lloyd, making him jump in shock and inch away from the beast slightly. A wave of fury emanated from the dragon, making the air feel heavy enough to almost push him down. He could tell that this thing was NOT happy. In fact, now that he was paying attention to it, he could see that one of its eyes were visibly twitching, and there was a light jitter in one of its forelegs, as though it were forcing itself not to crush him then and there. It felt like the Alatreon was… almost about to snap._

 _ **Don't think yourself special, human!**_ _The Alatreon's voice roared through his mind like a thunderclap. **Do you remember every bug you've stepped on or swatted? You, every single 'Lost', and every single human is just the same: one of my playthings, toys to be used and tossed aside at my whim! Don't you believe for a moment that you're unique, just because you're higher up on my list!**_

 _The Alatreon's voice seemed to dim a little, lowering to a menacing rumble. The creature leaned forward, bringing its snout directly in front of Lloyd's face. It hissed, and a gust of frigid white haze jetted between the creature's teeth, the merest touch feeling as though it froze Lloyd's skin._

 _ **I've laid countries and kingdoms to ruin. I've DIGESTED humans that have given me more thought that you ever will. I have erased more human lives than you can imagine, millions more than your pathetic friends are worth! You whine when I don't remember you, but most would consider it a blessing to 'slip' my mind.**_ _**It would be a simple thing to erase you and use one of the other thousands of Lost to amuse myself with instead; they all despise me as much as you, if not more. If you're truly so unhappy with my neglect, I am more than willing to find you and rectify that, boy.**_

 _"N-no, I was… just surprised is all. No need for that…"_

 _ **That's what I thought. Remember that compliance, boy; it may keep you in my good graces for longer than… other humans. Then again, your kind proving to be a very troublesome species to keep around… I've almost begun to wear out my patience with that Levin. I need to, as you humans say, 'vent my frustrations'. I can only destroy so many villages before it loses its charm.**_

 _"I'm, ah, not exactly qualified to psychoanalyze giant dragons..."_

 _ **Watch your tongue, human!**_ _the dragon spat, its talons gripping into the stone below and breaking it apart with ease. Lloyd swallowed nervously as the scales lining its body seemed to bristle like sharpened knives. Mouthing off to it was probably a bad idea after all. **I'm halfway tempted to fly over to your pitiful little camp and wipe it from existence. It would certainly save me a lot of trouble…**_

 _Lloyd was halfway tempted to ask 'then why don't you?' Fortunately, his judgment got the better of him this time. Last time he tried facing this thing, he didn't even last five seconds._

 _ **Or better yet… maybe I can order that Rathian you fought earlier to go back and finish the job. And should you or those other humans manage to survive… I'll send another creature. And another. And another. Until every living being, carnivorous or otherwise, from one horizon to the other is hunting you down, seeking your blood. The Alatreon's lips curled back into a twisted, maddened smile. You seek revenge against me, but how would you feel about dying, trampled under the hooves of a herd of meek Kelbi? Or swarmed and devoured by a hive of Altaroth? You're so proud of yourself for killing Jaggis and their ilk… Should I send every one of their kind in the country after you?**_

 _ **But no. Even that wouldn't be as fun as what I have planned for you, boy.**_ _the dragon chuckled, making the photographer shift nervously. **It has been far too long since I've been able to effectively torment one of your kind. Yes… until that Levin finally breaks and comes after me, you'll do just fine…**_

 _"What are you talking about…?"_

 _At once, several visions flashed before his eyes, like clips from a movie. He saw his family. His brother, dressed up in his combat fatigues. His friends, dirtied and tired from their exodus across the state. The new friends he made upon awakening, Mikael, Selipa, and Rosa. They were all there. It seemed so real… Lloyd felt as though he could reach out to all of them, like he could actually touch them._

 _And the next moment, they were gone. His brother's body lying in a street, fatigues bloodied from countless wounds. Zack and Fala, crushed beneath burning trees and surrounded by monsters. Selipa, Mikael and Rosa too. All of them, brutally killed and left sprawled out right before his very eyes. The sight brought Lloyd to his knees, his breath catching in his throat, eyes wide with fear._

 _ **Your kind… So frail, so weak, so… easily scarred. Their lives are all under my judgement, you know. What you see before you could become reality in an instant, should you choose to defy me. Their lives are in your hands…**_

 _"What… What do you want from me?" he asked warily. The Alatreon's sinister chuckle was the only response he got before another gruesome image assaulted his vision._

* * *

"…oyd…! Lloyd! What's wrong?! LLOYD!"

The photographer woke with a start, feeling hands on both of his shoulders keeping him down. He was covered in a cold sweat, his throat felt dry and scratchy, his torso and shoulder hurt badly… But he was awake. He was awake now. That was what mattered.

As he glanced around, he saw both Selipa and Rosa were sitting over him, looking down at him with incredibly worried expressions. Selipa had a damp rag in her hands while Rosa had both of her hands on his shoulders, which she removed after seeing he wasn't trying to move anymore.

"What's going on?" he asked, wincing slightly at the sound of his own voice. "What are you two doing in here…?"

"Making sure YOU didn't hurt yourself," Rosa answered with a sigh, wiping her brow as she sat back on the floor of their tent.

"You just started screaming in your sleep," Selipa added, keeping her gaze centered on him. "You were flailing around like you were trying to get away from something… Are you okay? Did you have a nightmare?"

 _ **Tell them, and they all will perish… And it will be all because of your weakness.**_

The Alatreon's voice echoed in his mind, and Lloyd swallowed nervously before looking away.

"Yeah… just a bad dream. Sorry for troubling you both."

"Is it something you want to talk about-?"

"NO!" Selipa and Rosa both flinched at his sudden outburst, and he felt himself shake nervously. "I-I mean… I'd just prefer not to…"

"W-well, alright…" Selipa muttered, glancing in Rosa's direction for a moment. "Uhm… Do you want something to eat? We were about to have dinner before… uh…"

"Sure, I'll take whatever you got," he answered, even though he wasn't feeling particularly hungry. In fact, eating was the last thing he wanted to do. He couldn't make them worry though… Selipa quickly pushed herself up and made her way out of the tent to grab him some food, leaving him and Rosa in the uncomfortably quiet tent. It took a few moments of silence before the huntress spoke up.

"…Look, I know I said earlier that I would kick your ass for it, but… You were pretty helpful during that fight with the Rathian."

"That's… not what the nightmare was about."

"And I won't try to pry. If it's something you don't want to talk about, I won't make you talk about it. I just wanted to let you know that it was… well, it was kinda cool fighting alongside you like that. I mean, after I got over the first five minutes of your frustratingly stubborn attitude, that is," she chuckled. A moment later, though, her expression turned serious. "But let me be clear about this; that was a really young Rathian. Normally they're much tougher than that, and they typically don't run off like that. We were just really, really lucky this time around. Don't let this go to your head or anything, alright?"

"Right… Sorry about that. I… don't really know what came over me… I should've ran like you said."

"Well, I won't argue that point, but it wasn't really your fault, was it?" Lloyd raised an eyebrow at the huntress, and she continued after letting out a short sigh and softening her expression. "Selipa told me about your personal brand of the Lost madness after I dragged you back here. Anyways, you get really defensive about things, right? Like… me saying it was a chore trying to babysit you during the fight, for instance."

"Oh… Oh. Right."

"I know you've been through your own fair amount of shit, Lloyd. I'm just trying to keep you and Selipa safe, understand? She'd have never let me hear the end of it if you… Well, you know. You pretty much scared her half to death then."

"I didn't mean to, and I'm not upset about that or anything, Rosa. I guess I just got caught up in the heat of the moment. I'll be more careful about it from now on."

"At least that nightmare made getting through to you a hell of a lot easier…" she muttered under her breath, almost inaudibly. A moment later, the huntress reached into the bag lying on the floor beside her. "Still, you did alright during that fight, especially considering you're not a hunter, and that you've never fought anything worse than a Great Jaggi. So… after I carted you back here, I went back out to that clearing, and I found you a little gift."

The huntress procured a sizeable green scale from within the bag, almost as large as his hand when outstretched. There was a large black spike-like protrusion in the lower-middle part of the scale, and the whole thing gradually shifted from a deep forest green to a lighter olive color. After a second, he took it from Rosa's hands: it was heavier than he expected, and a bit thicker too. The top section was jagged and uneven, almost like it had been snapped off of the wyvern's body.

"That's a Rathian Plate," she explained. "Scales like that are pretty hard to come by, you know. It's a miracle that a young Rath even had one of this quality to begin with. Lots of hunters would kill to have a trophy like that. Yours truly just so happened to blow one off the Rathian's back! Pretty cool, huh?"

"Yeah," he replied, marveling at the large plate in his hands. "It actually is… Are you sure you want to just give it to me though? I thought you said they were rare. You'd have more use for this than me."

"I've found my fair share of plates during my career, tough guy. I can live without one. Now, that being said, if it were a Rath _ALOS_ Plate, I'd-"

"Hey, I'm back with food!" Selipa said, pushing her way into the tent with a large tray holding a few bowls of stew. "Sorry I took so long, I wanted to grab something from the wagon. I figured now was as special an occasion as we could get, considering the… run in with the Rathian."

"Wait, you didn't get the-"

"Special spice? Oh, yes I did."

"Ahhhhhhh! I love you! C'mon, gimme gimme gimme gimme-!"

"Alright, alright, calm down, Rosie!" the trader laughed. "Lloyd first, then you!"

"But that's not fair!"

"Oh shush, you. Here you go, Lloyd." He pushed himself upright fully and took the bowl she held out to him, sniffing it curiously as she handed another one over to Rosa before setting herself down to his left with her own. It looked like the same kind of stew they'd had for a few nights now, yet with only a brief glimpse he could tell Rosa was eating it almost a hundred times faster. He gave Selipa a curious glance, but she just smiled warmly and nodded towards him. With a shrug, Lloyd grabbed the spoon and took his first bite. He didn't stop until the bowl was empty, and he was half-tempted to try licking it clean.

"Okay, what the hell happened to make this stew taste so delicious? I thought you said you couldn't cook!"

"Hey, I _can_ cook! I just… tend to burn things a little too much," Selipa replied. "As for the stew, there's a town on the western coast called Orage Dell. It's a huge place for traders, and there's a really great merchant who always brings in really rare spices. A dash or two of that stuff can make a whole pot of stew taste like it belongs in a castle."

"Seriously? I'll have to go there myself sometime if it means getting food this good. What do you think, Rosa?"

"I want mooooooore," the huntress whined, sprawling herself out on the floor and kicking her legs in the air as she held the empty bowl out in front of her. "Why does the bowl not refill itself?! Food this good could only be better if I didn't have to get a second serving!"

"You aren't going to make me refill that for you, Rosie. Did you want seconds, Lloyd?"

"If you're offering, sure."

"Uuuuuugh, why don't you love me anymooooore."

"Geez, she fights dragons like a boss, yet a bowl of stew renders her immobile," Lloyd remarked, seeing the huntress trying to scooch herself towards the exit of the tent like a human-sized caterpillar. "Exactly what's in that spice, anyways?"

"I don't really remember everything, but I know it involves ground Neopteron shell-"

"And suddenly I no longer wish to know," he said, handing the bowl back to her with a short smile.

* * *

 **Author Notes: Please Review! Sorry about how late this one is being posted everyone, I'm in the middle of a trip and finding time to settle down and finalize the document for publishing has been a nightmare.**

 **Speaking of nightmares, Lloyd has those now! Suddenly the story gets a bit darker in the process. I figured that during the period of time after Levin dissed the Alatreon in TLC and refused to go after it, the Alatreon was probably a little extremely pissed off. Unfortunately, that means Lloyd has to pick up the slack for Levin in the meantime, which... well, it wasn't pretty in the original story, and it ain't pretty here either, that's for sure. A quick thanks to dashboardgecko for helping me out with writing the Alatreon's dialogue in the vision scene this time too!**

 **And of course, how could I avoid having a monster fight in a Monster Hunter story? I think using a Rathian was a little bit of a foregone conclusion considering the cover image I chose for Driven, but hey, they're fun to fight! This is pretty much Rosa's time to shine too; she's a veritable one woman army in her own right, even for the standards of TLC. As befitting a high rank hunter, she's got the skills to back up the attitude, which really helps contribute to my attempt at a mix between the TLC style of fighting and that of my own stories. I wanted it to be faster and make the humans seem a little stronger, but I wanted their target to be a threat too. So, I decided to make one participant hyper competent, and the other only sort of competent. Guess you could say Rosa carried Lloyd through his first Rathian hunt, huh? Hah, noob jokes.**

 **Playing: Fire Emblem Fates, Hyrule Warriors Legends, Super Smash Bros. 4**

 **Watching: Silver Spoon, Assassination Classroom, Noragami**


	5. Chapter 5

**The Lost Civilization: Driven**

 **By: Thomas A. Hawk**

 **Edited by: dashboardgecko**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Monster Hunter. The rights of the game belong entirely to Capcom. This is a fanwork taking place in the setting of The Lost Civilization, another fanwork of the Monster Hunter games. The world and its characters, aside from those newly created for the sake of this story, are property of dashboardgecko**

* * *

Chapter 5: The Journey

"No no no, your form was all wrong, Lloyd! I thought you said you were good with swords?"

"Ugh… Ow. Not ones that weigh this much. Heaviest one I ever had was six pounds, and this thing must be almost fifteen!"

The huntress let out a short sigh before reaching down and offering him a hand up. The group had stopped a little earlier than usual so they could arrive at the next town in the morning. For whatever reason, their next destination didn't take too kindly to nighttime arrivals, and due to a surprise Jaggi raid earlier that day, they were slightly behind schedule. While Selipa was tending to the draft Popos and making stew, Rosa had offered to spar with Lloyd a little to help him grow accustomed to her sword in case another large monster decided to attack. They'd been going at it for about half an hour or so, and the sun had already dipped below the tops of the trees now.

Dueling with sharpened blades had put him on edge at first, but he quickly learned that he really didn't have anything to worry about. Rosa wasn't actively trying to hit him, and she easily outpaced him with her back-up blade, resulting in the only injuries sustained being strikes to his arms or legs with the flat of her blade.

While he had used the sword fairly easily before, when they had fought the Rathian, he now attributed that completely to adrenaline. Hunter swords were much, much heavier than the ones he collected back in his time; he assumed that was to make cutting into plates and hides easier for them, but it made trying to swing the blade a full body effort for him. How Rosa could not only swing it with one hand, but to do so with any kind of fluidity and grace confounded him. He supposed that was just one of the differences between Therians and the Lost.

Then again, his own exhaustion was holding him back as well. While it didn't happen every night, the mental strain the Alatreon put on him during its 'visits' was wearing down on him and making it hard to sleep at all. Most mornings he woke up in a cold sweat, and he couldn't stop his hands from shaking, even during the ones where he hadn't been mentally assaulted. Selipa had made a few concerned comments about the large bags under his eyes some days as well, but he just passed it off saying it was from staying up later to keep watch. The dragon had made it abundantly clear that he couldn't say a word to them about his current situation, else it would come for them personally.

Fortunately they hadn't run into too much trouble since the Rathian. There had been some excitement when a herd of Aptonoth took about half an hour to cross the road in front of them, and there had been one attack by a small group of Jaggis that left one of the carriage wheels damaged and needing a quick replacement (at least, he wished it had been a quick process). Apart from those events, though, it had been remarkably peaceful for the last few days, something that he really appreciated. After the events of the last few weeks, a little breather seemed like just the thing he needed.

And yet, here he was willingly clashing swords with a woman who could readily kick his ass in a matter of seconds, quite possibly with her eyes closed and most definitely with one arm tied behind her back (that was a rather embarrassing session). Maybe 'breather' wasn't quite the best word he could've used.

"Hey, stew's done, you two!" Selipa called from the small campfire she had set up. "If you're done beating the snot out of Lloyd, come and get it!"

"Ow, right in the pride," he muttered dryly, sheathing the hunting blade across his back before lumbering over to the fire and taking a seat on a stump. "So, about how far from this next village is Hasara Landing?"

"It's just a couple days. I imagine we'll be in Loc Lac within the next week," Selipa replied, passing him a bowl and a spoon. "We'll be stopping for a few days so I can sell a few things in Azale Town, of course, but we're almost there."

"Within a week, huh…"

It was hard to believe that they were almost at their destination after all of this. Pretty soon he'd be able to reunite with Fala and Zack. They must still be worried sick about him… He'd definitely have some stories for them though. He just hoped their journey wasn't any rougher than his had been so far.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news Lloyd, but it might not be as simple as you're thinking," Rosa said, drawing his attention. "Just getting to Loc Lac doesn't mean you'll be home free."

"What do you mean?"

"It's a really, REALLY big city. There's a lot of hustle and bustle constantly, day and night. It might take you weeks to find your friends there, and they could be almost anywhere."

"Now now, Rosie, you know that isn't exactly true," the trader commented after seeing Lloyd's expression fall slightly. "Most Lost tend to stick around the Southern District, right? And they've got a Hive there like the one in Nastre, so it's not like it'll be a needle in a haystack for him."

"Well, sure, but I just want to make sure he gets that Loc Lac isn't exactly the ideal place for a Lost to be, even if that's where most of them are."

"Why, cuz of the tension between Lost and Therians?" he asked, taking a few bites of the stew and glancing between the two. "It can't really be that bad… right?"

"Last time I was in Loc Lac there was a rumor that some people were trying to kick the Lost out of the country entirely. Some powerful members of the government were supposed to be in on it too."

"Ah. Well isn't that just a kick in the teeth. Don't suppose you have any other bad news to share with me, right?"

"Actually, there is one other thing…"

" _WONDERFUL."_

"This next town we're going to be stopping in, Azale, it gets a good bit of Lost traffic trickling into the city," Selipa stated, setting her now-empty bowl down beside her. "It's mostly because Loc Lac closed its gates to large numbers of Lost entering at a time in an effort to avoid overpopulation, and Hasara is one of the smaller ports they can trickle on in through. Unfortunately, some of the residents aren't particularly fond of that traffic…"

"And by 'some' she means 'most'," Rosa added, earning a quick glance from the trader.

"So basically I'm walking into a shitstorm just waiting to happen. I'm not going to get lynched, am I?"

"Not exactly, but… it won't be pretty if you do get into trouble. So, the plan is for you to keep a low profile while we're in town. If anyone asks, just say you're Therian, maybe even Rosa's hunting apprentice."

"He's a little too scrawny for that," the huntress mused, and Lloyd shot her an irritated look. They really loved taking pot shots at his ego, didn't they? "Nah, I think it would be better to say he's in the trading business with you. Ooh, maybe you could act like you're a couple!"

" _WHAT?"_

"Rosa, no!"

The huntress laughed while Selipa looked away from the campfire in embarrassment and Lloyd gave her a harsh look.

"Relax, I was just joking around a little, geez!" she chuckled, waving him off and getting another helping of stew. "Still, it would be considered normal for a couple to travel together, especially if it's a trading business like this. I wouldn't be surprised if your friends had to do something similar too. Hell, they might even have to put up a front in Loc Lac while they wait for you. Or maybe they've even become a thing to make it easier on them!"

"Don't talk like you know them," Lloyd shot back, shaking his head and looking off towards the trees. "There are certain lines that we don't cross with each other, and my relationship with Fala is one of them. That's not something Zack would do."

"I dunno Lloyd, a lot can change in a few hectic months," she teased coyly, poking her spoon in his direction.

"Rosa, stop with the teasing…" Selipa warned in a hushed tone, glancing between her and Lloyd uneasily.

"Oh come on, Sel, I'm just having a little-!"

 _THUNK!_

The huntress let out a short yelp as Lloyd released his grip on her broadsword, the tip of which was embedded several inches into a thick root about a foot to her side.

"Take your damn sword back."

Neither she nor Selipa spoke a word, both of them simply staring wide-eyed at him as he stood up straight.

"I'll take watch tonight."

"But-"

"Don't. Even try."

He turned about and walked off towards the carriage then, leaving the sword wobbling slightly beside the huntress and leaving the campsite eerily quiet. He set himself down against the wheel and set his sights towards the road a few dozen feet before him, doing his best to ignore the twitching of his eye and the shaking of his hand.

* * *

He wasn't sure how much later it was before Selipa told him that she and Rosa were going to sleep, but frankly, Lloyd didn't really care at the moment. He was still fuming over what the huntress had been implying about Zack and Fala. It was completely out of line.

After the pair had retired to their tent, Lloyd moved back to the remains of their campfire, the light of the moon overhead illuminating the area relatively well. He unbuckled his sword from his belt, removed his pistol from his holster, and set the weapons down on either side of him as he sat down. Both weapons had seen their fair share of use in Theron, and while he'd been careful to maintain them, they were showing signs of use. They were some of the only ties he had left to his time, apart from a couple of the things in his bag. In fact, he might even have a few more things from Theron in there now…

As he sat there, he began to think that Rosa might have been right about one thing. A lot _could_ change in just a few months, especially for a Lost. They had been forced to adapt to this new world, give up parts of their heritage, even forget some of their old lives just to keep moving forward. He'd likely never drive a car again, or fly in a jet, or go to a drive through restaurant… So many things that seemed so normal then were now completely gone without a trace. He even found many of his memories of his time had grown hazy: he barely recalled the name of his old boss, the names of the schools he had attended, even the street he had lived on for his entire childhood was foggy at best.

So much had been left behind already, he hoped Zack and Fala hadn't left him behind too.

He looked up at the sound of whispers coming from the tent, and Lloyd quietly picked up his pistol in case someone had snuck into the camp before taking several careful steps towards the canvas. He relaxed as he neared, though, realizing it was just Rosa and Selipa talking to each other from within. He was about to make his way back to the stump when he overheard a part of their conversation.

"…was just heartless to say something like that to him, you know? Can you imagine how much he's already been through?"

"That doesn't mean reality doesn't matter, Sel. Sure, I was just teasing, but I have firsthand experience with that same sort of thing. It's never easy, but at least he'll be ready for when it happens."

" _IF._ If it happens. Neither of us know what kind of people Lloyd's friends are, and he's always talked about how loyal they are to one another. Give some credit where it's due, Rosa."

"Well, what about you? I know for a fact you'd prefer it if what I said happened… I know how you are. Once you fall for a guy, you fall _hard._ Can you blame me for trying to play matchmaker a little bit, considering your luck? This isn't the first time something like this has happened, after all."

"…It doesn't matter what I want for myself or how I feel about him. He already has someone special to him, and I'd rather they be together than live with the guilt of tearing them apart."

"Sigh… You always did look out for others first, even in love. I'm sorry for trying to force you two together then, Sel."

"You should really save that apology for Lloyd, don't you think?"

"Irk… He _did_ almost stab me earlier…"

"You know he wouldn't hurt you, Rosa. Besides, to be honest, you were kind of asking for it. You know how defensive he gets about these things. He can't help it."

"I guess you have a point… Fine, I'll apologize to him in the morning. Don't expect anything sappy or whatever though. I have a reputation to maintain."

"Yeah, yeah, just get some rest for now, alright?"

"Fiiiiiine… G'night, Sel."

Lloyd quietly made his way back over to the stump and set himself down with a heavy sigh. That certainly wasn't a bit of information he had been expecting to learn…

"Good lord, the one time I decide to be a little nosy…" he muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. After a few moments, he grabbed his katana and pushed himself back up, drawing the blade and making his way back over to the small clearing he and Rosa had been sparring in earlier. He felt that maybe a little solo practice would help him blow off some steam.

He was grateful to have the familiar weight of the curved blade in his hand this time. It sort of reminded him of the times he'd clear out some space in his studio to practice, of the times he'd swing a little too high and accidentally nick the ceiling. Those times when everything was still normal.

He twirled the blade once on either side of him in a quick figure eight before grasping the hilt with his other hand and taking in a long breath. A moment later, he brought the sword up and took a step forwards, quickly slashing the katana downwards with a wind-splitting _whoosh._ He let out a short grunt before slashing horizontally, striking down an invisible adversary before him. He turned to the side and slashed diagonally upwards twice, once to the left and once to the right, as though he were cutting an X into the torso of some unseen enemy.

From there, he threw himself into a simulation of sorts, imagining enemies charging him while he fended them off with fast, fluid swings every which way. He would envision a blade swinging towards his back, and react by pulling his own blade over his shoulder and across his back to block before counterattacking the imaginary assailant, or ducking beneath a swipe at his head and kicking the legs out from a pair of attackers. He tossed his katana into his left hand in a reverse grip and drew his handgun from its holster, taking aim at a number of the attackers approaching him and picking them off one by one with mouthed "bangs". He found himself facing off against a veritable army of figments of his imagination, and with each one he felled, a little bit of his frustrations seemed to vanish.

After a while, though, he let out an exhausted huff and planted the tip of his sword into the ground to take a break. He'd had similar simulations back in his time too. He called the things from his civilization normal then, and a part of him still considered all of those things ordinary now too. Yet… He had to accept that there was no going back from here. This world, these monsters that occupied the wilds, these strange people and their culture, THAT was the new normal.

"Guess that makes it my new normal too," he muttered, holding his blade out before him and running his eyes along its edge. "Some things have to be left behind to move ahead, but not everything. Fala, Zack… I won't be left behind too."

It was then that he noticed Selipa standing off to the side, leaning up against a tree as though she had been watching him since he had started practicing. She blinked in surprise as she realized Lloyd had seen her.

"Oh, uhm… Hey."

"I... didn't know you were still up."

"I just thought I might get a breath of fresh air, see how you were doing, y'know? I… take it you're still kinda pissed, huh?"

"Just incredibly frustrated with your friend at the moment, but I'll manage," he replied, sliding his katana back into its sheath. "Don't worry, I wasn't thinking about trying to kill her or anything. Chances are she'd beat me to a pulp if I tried, even in her sleep."

"Give yourself a little more credit, Lloyd. You're a good swordsman, even if you learned most of it from the… what did you call it? The internet? I mean, you were doing a great job guarding the carriage before Rosa joined us, after all."

"I'm not upset about her showing me up or anything. Believe me, I actually do know when to fold 'em and say 'yes, you are tougher than me'. I just don't want to be forgotten by the people I care about, and her saying that they might've moved on really… got to me."

"She was just talking about some of her older relationships that went south for similar reasons. You can't have thirty-seven different relationships without some drama, right?"

"Guess not," he sighed, strapping the katana back to his belt and resting his hand on the pommel. "I can't exactly speak from experience there, but that's why it got to me. Zack and Fala are pretty much the only real friends I've had for my entire life. I honestly can't imagine life without them. We were a team, almost like a miniature family. The things we'd get up to... Zack and I especially. I still remember planting a fart bomb in one of my school teacher's chairs with him, and that's not even scratching the surface of what we got up to. We'd skip classes to go hiking through the woods sometimes, or grab a bite from a place that actually had decent food compared to the cafeteria. Sometimes we'd get into scraps with other guys over who knows what. Fala would always do her best to bail us out when we got in trouble, but man, we did _not_ make it easy for her. Then after the rebellious teen years were over, and we actually had our shit together, we _still_ made sure to stay close. We'd go on trips together, help each other out with work... And I'd occasionally bail Zack out of trouble myself when he _really_ screwed up. I didn't really mind, even if I would give him some shit about it. Thinking back on all of that, it's just... really hard for me not knowing how they're doing, let alone actually having doubts about our friendship. I really couldn't take it if they did do something like that to me."

"I can imagine why," she said with a light smile, and Lloyd cleared his throat after a moment.

"Yeah uh... Sorry about going off a little there, I really shouldn't be boring you with all the details about our past."

"Oh no, its alright, really! If it helps you vent a little, go right ahead."

"Thanks, but I'm pretty sure I just finished getting everything off my chest. Anyways... you can leave the night watch to me this time around. I'd just like some time to think."

"A-are you sure?" she asked, raising an eyebrow in concern as he strode over to where she stood. "I mean, it just seems like you don't get any rest some nights. You shouldn't force yourself to stay up so late if you don't have to. I'm sure Rosa or I could keep watch for a few hours."

"I appreciate it, really, I do, but I'd just prefer to stay up this time around. Besides, what better way to lie low in Azale Town than to lie in bed sleeping all day?"

"You have a point, but still… Just make sure you don't overwork yourself, alright?"

"Trust me, I've had worse nights before. I'll be just fine."

"I hope so…"

The pair headed back towards the camp then, Selipa first, followed by Lloyd. Shortly before reaching her tent, though, she stopped.

"Listen, Lloyd, can I… tell you something?"

 _Uh oh…_

"Sure, is something the matter?"

"No, no, just, I… I want to let you know that even if you think you're being left behind -and I really doubt your friends would do that to you-, you've still got a place in this crazy, weird world here. And... while you might've had to leave a lot behind to move forwards, there's always more ahead for you to pick up along the way too."

"Oh, uh, you... you heard that bit, huh?" he stuttered, glancing off to the side out of embarrassment.

"Well, I'm not the only one who can eavesdrop, after all," she smiled. Lloyd let out a short gasp and turned back towards her, realizing her knowing expression had a hint of sadness to it as well.

"Uh, I-"

"Your shadow was blocking some of the light outside. Look, you don't have to say anything about it. Honestly, I'd rather you didn't. Like you probably heard, this isn't the first time I've fallen for a guy I can't be with, and it probably won't be the last. It's almost like a curse, really... I don't want you feeling bad about anything just because I can't stop my feelings. I'd rather we just move ahead right now like this didn't happen at all, and... just stay as friends. Fair enough?"

"I... Alright, sure," he sighed. He wasn't even quite sure what he could say at that point. This was not territory he was used to being in. Still, it probably was better to just let it go.

"Good night, Lloyd."

"…Y-yeah, good night, Selipa."

Lloyd walked back towards the stump after the trader disappeared inside her tent, setting himself down on the makeshift seat and resting his face in his hands. The night had pretty much just begun, yet it felt like it had dragged on for ages already…

"Ugh, why do I do things…"

* * *

The group made it into Azale Town without much trouble the next morning. The village was at least four or five times bigger than Aries Town was, and many of the stone and brick buildings were a fair bit taller as well. Lloyd really didn't pay much more attention than that, though.

"Morning, tough guy. How did the night watch go?" Rosa had asked before they got moving.

"I am not fine," he groaned tiredly, clambering into the back of the carriage and sprawling himself over a box. He'd remained there ever since, only getting a view of the town through a few open sections of the canvas over the wagon through his tired, bleary eyes.

"First things first, let's get a few rooms at the inn and drop him off there," Selipa said, giving the photographer a sympathetic look before spurring the draft Popo onwards. "We can set up in the market after that, alright Rosa?"

"Can I at least get a drink at the tavern first? We ran out of alcohol four days ago and I miss iiiiit."

"Rosie, the last thing I need is for you to get drunk while Lloyd is already delirious from a lack of sleep."

Lloyd let out a string of slurred curses as the carriage bumped over an uneven section of the road, sending him tumbling off of the box in the process.

"Uuuuuugh…"

"See?"

"Fine, but you better believe I'm going to have a _huge_ tab open tonight!"

"What am I going to do with you two…"

After halting the carriage in front of an inn, Selipa and Rosa helped Lloyd stagger up to one of the rooms they had rented out for the next few days, where he promptly collapsed face first on the mattress. An actual bed. After several weeks on the road. He might as well have died and gone to heaven.

"Rosa's bringing up the rest of your stuff now," Selipa said. "Do you need anything?"

"Darkness…"

The trader let out an amused chuckle before closing the blinds over the window.

"Thank you…"

There was a long scraping noise as the huntress dragged his item chest into the room before setting it down with a loud _thump,_ earning an irritated grunt from the photographer at the loud noises.

"We'll be back later this afternoon, probably before sundown. Hope you rest well!"

* * *

He didn't.

Lloyd awoke sometime later clutching at his head in agony, covered in a cold sweat, curled up into a tight ball, while the covers were a tangled mess by the foot of the bed. While the room was still dark, the edges of his vision were tinted with red, and the thumping in his head was almost as fast as his strained breaths.

"That f-fucking dragon…" he spat, closing his eyes tight as an explosion of pain erupted inside his head once again. This had been a particularly brutal visit of the Alatreon, perhaps worsened by his lack of sleep. He didn't even want to think about what the black dragon had done to him this time… He was just glad everything was still attached properly.

He tried to calm his breathing and regain his composure, but the dull throbbing in his head made it nearly impossible to do so. He'd had migraines that felt better than this. He shifted his hand over the nightstand beside him, feeling around for a glass of water or something to help calm himself, only to find a flat table.

"Right… Tavern…" he grumbled, forcing himself up despite his aching skull and heading towards the door. By some miracle he made it down the hall and to the stairs without much trouble, though the light coming in from the windows only served to make his head hurt more. Even then, he forced himself down the steps, nearly falling down about halfway, before stumbling over to the bar and slumping into a seat.

"You look like you've had a rough time, buddy," the barkeep said. "You want a drink or something?"

"Water… Lots of water…"

A minute later, a massive tankard of the clear liquid was placed in front of him, and he immediately chugged down about half of it, wincing slightly as he set the wooden container down on the counter. He took a deep breath and brought his hand up to cover his eyes. From what he could see in his reflection in the liquid, his eyes were almost completely bloodshot.

"Few too many drinks on the road?"

"I wish," Lloyd responded, massaging his forehead in an effort to make the throbbing in his skull go away. The water certainly helped, but it was hardly enough to make it all go away. He'd kill for some Ibuprofin right about now. But no, that wasn't a thing anymore, was it? What even equated to a CVS in these parts anyways?

After downing his third tankard of water, Lloyd finally felt like he could deal with some light again, though he still found that keeping both eyes open was a large strain on his head, so he shut his markedly redder right eye tightly.

"You do got some zenni to pay for those, right?" the barkeep asked, wiping out the inside of a mug with a somewhat dirty rag. He hoped to whatever gods existed that this place was more sanitary than what it appeared to be.

"Water didn't cost anything in Aries Town…" Lloyd mumbled in reply.

"They aren't as close to the desert as we are. I'll cut you some slack this time around and say it's just a hundred zenni. Normally I'd charge about three times that."

"Alright, alright, just gimme a second…"

Lloyd reached into his belt in search of the coin pouch Selipa had given to him, only to be met with empty space. Which pouch had he put those things in again? He searched through a few of the pouches, pulling a few things out and setting them on the counter in front of him before finally locating his coins and tossing a handful on the table.

"You can keep the change…"

"Alrighty, but clean that junk up, would you? I don't appreciate people leaving stuff all over my counter."

"Yeah yeah…"

As he began to put away some of his things, he heard a few footsteps behind him, and a hand reached into view, taking hold of a crumpled red and silver piece of metal.

"What the heck is this?" a voice grumbled, and Lloyd turned to face a relatively tall and scarred man. Probably a hunter or something. That seemed to be the default job nowadays.

"It's a can," Lloyd sighed. He didn't actually take that out of his pouch before, did he?

"A 'can'? What's it for?"

"It holds soda. Held soda. Whatever."

"Soda?"

"Drinks, whatever. It's garbage now, keep it if you want. Have Yoda make it into a nice little hat for you or something."

"You're a Lost, aren't you?" the man scowled. "One of those freaks came through here spouting some crap about 'soda' and 'pop' before too."

"Does it really fucking matter?" he shot at the man.

"As a matter of fact, it does."

"Bryant, don't start anything again," the barkeep warned. "I told you last time that you wouldn't be allowed back in here if you keep terrorizing my customers."

"What, you actually like these freaks and their 'advanced civilization' nonsense?!"

"No, but I'm willing to put up with it if they're paying customers. Like this fine gentleman here, who _hasn't_ said anything about his civilization at all."

"Hah! That's rich! Calling this sack of shit a gentleman?" the hunter scoffed, grabbing hold of Lloyd's shoulder. The photographer shook him off violently not even a second later.

"Get lost," Lloyd muttered, shaking his head as he moved to get out of his seat and head back up to his room. Before he could take more than a step, though, Bryant grabbed hold of his shoulder again with a much tighter grip.

"What was that, punk?"

Lloyd let out a short sigh.

"I said… GET LOST!"

The photographer whirled about and slammed his fist directly into the hunter's nose, feeling the bones within break beneath his fist before Bryant stumbled back, clutching at his face and howling in pain.

Lloyd turned to make his way back up the stairs, but yelped in shock as he felt himself pulled back towards the tavern. He grunted in pain as Bryant threw him into the wall, just barely pulling his head up in time to avoid the hunter's fist slamming into the wall where his head was a second before.

"You are so going to pay for that, you Lost piece of shit."

The photographer let out another yelp as the hunter pulled him off the wall and threw him onto a table several feet away, causing the patrons sitting there to hurriedly pull themselves away to avoid the fight. Despite the throbbing in his head, Lloyd forced himself up and shook the stars from his vision before realizing his hand was resting on a glass bottle. He smirked lightly as he heard the hunter storming up behind him, and he turned about quickly, intending to smash the bottle against the side of the man's head.

He gasped in surprise, though, as the hunter's arm shot up and caught his wrist a moment before the bottle connected.

"I've been in my fair share of bar fights, punk. That's nothing new."

"Well then. Guess I'll try something else."

"Wha-"

 _Ptoo!_

Bryant let out a surprised yell as Lloyd spat a wad of saliva directly into his eye before kicking him in the abdomen, sending the hunter back a few paces. Lloyd winced as the throbbing in his head suddenly increased as he got to his feet, nearly stumbling over, but he managed to stay up. Getting into a fight with a migraine was the last thing he wanted to do, especially when his opponent was a veritable gorilla.

Bryant furiously wiped his eye before shooting a glare at Lloyd, punching his fist into his open hand before storming back over to the photographer. He weakly raised his arms in something akin to a defensive stance, but Bryant simply grabbed him by the collar and lifted him about a foot off the ground.

"You Lost are always talking about having been able to fly like wyverns before, huh? How's this compare?!"

Bryant turned and tossed the man through the air onto an empty table, and Lloyd let out a pained grunt as he hit the counter and another blast of pain tore through his skull. Before he could even react, he felt the hunter's hand grasp his ankle, and Lloyd was pulled from the table and sent sliding across the floor into a few chairs.

"How's that for a 'fast land speed'?! How about we see how long you can last underwater without a 'submarine' next, you Lost punk!"

"How about… you kindly… kiss my ass?" Lloyd gasped as he pushed himself up on all fours. Why he thought talking back to the hunter in this condition was a good idea, he'd likely never know.

Bryant let out a curse before stomping back towards the downed Lost and made to grab him once again. Right before his hand could connect, though, a white gauntlet appeared from the side and caught hold of the hunter's wrist, stopping it dead in place.

"Why, hello there, Bryant. Remember me? It's been… what, two years now since I dumped your sorry butt?"

"What the hel-?! Ah… Ah! R-Rosa! What are you doing here?!"

"I see you've been having a swell time beating on my friend here. How about you pick on someone a little closer to your size? Or, better yet… How about I show you what a real smackdown is?!"

* * *

A short while later, Lloyd was back in his room. Rosa was sitting in a chair by the window drinking a tankard of Hunter Cola while Selipa was busy tending to Lloyd's injuries from the bar fight. He wasn't quite sure where the huntress had learned the finer points of wrestling, but after seeing her perform two lariats, an elbow drop, a double axe handle, and a… _something_ on Bryant, he decided that some things are best left to the imagination. Or just forgotten entirely. That sounded good too.

If anything, though, the experience reminded him entirely too much of the last bar fight he'd been involved with, back in his time. Zack had been the main aggressor there, of course... Now Lloyd could sort of see where his friend had been coming from when he said 'sometimes they're just asking for a beating'. He really didn't regret slugging Bryant at all. He regretted not being able to do it again. Guess he'd have an interesting story to tell him when they reunited, though he could already hear the 'and you said _I_ was bad!' Zack would likely respond with now. He'd have to make sure to tell it in a way that didn't make it seem like he was getting beat too badly though.

"Alright, that should stop the bleeding on your head. Feeling any better?"

"Much, yeah, tha-"

"Then what the hell were you doing getting into a bar fight?! That is the exact OPPOSITE of keeping a low profile!"

"I just wanted some water for my migraine, for crying out loud! I wasn't expecting to run into one of Rosa's thirty-seven evil ex-boyfriends, who also just so happened to be a racist prick."

"Yeah, he always was kind of a dick," Rosa commented. "Thinking back, I don't even know what I saw in the guy. Made for a great punching bag today though. Kinda wish I could've broken his nose first though. That's usually the best part."

"Oh, well, so sorry to steal your fun," Lloyd remarked dryly before giving a curious glance towards Selipa. The trader was staring intently at him with her fingers interlocked before her mouth as though she were trying to solve a hard question on an exam. "Do… you need something?"

"I'm just trying to figure out why you keep getting these migraines so often," she said after a few moments. "It just doesn't make any sense. You drink tons of water, you usually get just as much rest as Rosa and I, you mostly clean your plates of food… Those are the common symptoms I know about, but none of them apply here. It doesn't add up."

"Selipa, I've been getting migraines since before I even arrived in Theron," he said. "I'm sure you don't have experience working long nights on computer screens, but trust me, that shit fries your brain. It's probably just… residual or something."

He had to admit, he was relatively impressed with that lie. The parts about getting them back in his time was true- oh lord was it true- but he knew exactly why he got them now. He just couldn't say a word to them. He could never really tell if the Alatreon was watching or not, but considering the kind of pain it could inflict on him without even _being_ there, he didn't even want to risk it. He wouldn't give into that dragon's torture for anything.

The trader gave him a concerned look, but otherwise seemed content with his answer, and sat back in her seat with a sigh.

"Well, whatever it is, I hope we can find a way to deal with it. If Rosa and I hadn't shown up when we did, who knows what could've happened to you."

"I'd have been fine… Probably." The two women gave him a look, and he laughed nervously. "Maybe?"

"Yeah, sure," Rosa chuckled sarcastically. "You'd have been deader than Qurupeco trying to call for a Deviljho."

Selipa had shown him an ecology book about Deviljhos before. He had a hard time telling which they resembled more: giant pickles, or Godzilla. They were considered to be some of the most ferocious beasts in the land, though. Considering Qurupecos were only a two star threat… Yeah, that was an insult.

"Alright, I don't know about you two, but this girl thinks she could use a nice long wash," Selipa said after a few moments, patting her knees and getting to her feet. "Thank heavens we were able to get rooms in the inn closest to the bath houses."

"Ooh, I'll come along in that case! Lloyd, try not to get your butt kicked again while we're out."

"What? Can't I come along too? I was on the road just as long as you two!"

"Azale Town's bath house has times reserved for men and women," the huntress explained. "Can't have any funny business going on inside- not that people haven't tried, mind you- so they have time slotted for each gender."

"Alright, well, when _can_ I go then?"

"Tomorrow morning or tomorrow afternoon. Women get midday and nighttime. I'd suggest you not take the morning one, since that's usually when most guys go, and… well, I'm sure you wouldn't want another run in with dear old Bryant."

"I could've taken him if I wasn't suffering from chronic headaches… Doesn't this inn have a shower room or anything?"

"I mean, probably, but I wouldn't expect it to have nice, relaxing, clean, warm water like the bath house," Selipa commented. Lloyd simply let out a defeated sigh before falling back into his bed.

"I really, really hate this place."

* * *

Fortunately for them, their stay in Azale Town was mostly uneventful after that first night. Selipa made her sales, Lloyd managed to avoid having any further trouble with the members of the town (and got in some much needed bathing time) and Rosa got completely wasted, requiring Lloyd and Selipa to carry her back up to her room and Lloyd to babysit her hangover the next morning. And, since he didn't exactly have much zenni himself, Selipa ended up helping him pay off the bill for damages done to the tavern from his and Bryant's tussle- like it or not, Lloyd _did_ throw the first punch, so it was mostly his fault. And, of course, he now owed her big time. All in all though, the entire ordeal was at least entertaining.

The trio headed out of the village in a different wagon drawn by an Aptonoth after three days, which Selipa explained was to avoid having her draft Popo overheat in the desert, and Lloyd breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the gates of the town close behind them.

"Promise me that if I ever go on a road trip with your two again that we'll never go back there."

"Sorry Lloyd, but there's good business there!" Selipa replied apologetically. "Normally I'd stay for a week minimum."

"Hear that? The girl made an exception for you, so quit complaining," Rosa chuckled as she lied back on the floor of the carriage. "I for one had a great time there!"

"That's because you got to beat up your ex and drink yourself into a stupor," Lloyd remarked. "The grown-ups actually had to deal with important things."

"Oh please, you just spent three days sleeping in your room or going to take baths."

"I actually had a pretty in depth conversation with another Lost about dark room printing. Apparently he's trying to recreate black and white photography using the different materials and chemicals we have access to here in Theron."

"Okay?"

"…That means I might actually be able to do something with my skillset after finding Zack and Fala. Going back into photography would be great, especially if I could get some good shots of monsters in the field. I really don't think I'm quite cut out for the hunting life, after all."

"You're kinda losing me here, Lloyd…"

"Okay, let me put it this way. You know how those monster information books always have really crappy drawings or symbols to represent the monsters? Imagine if instead of those, you could actually see what the monster looked like. Not just someone's sketch, but an actual monster, with every bit of detail captured like you were right there, looking at it in the flesh."

"Eh, you'll have to try harder than that to impress me. I've seen pretty much every monster native to Theron in the flesh already."

"Well, I think that it sounds pretty cool," Selipa laughed. "Are you going to have a way to contact this guy?"

"At least somebody appreciates the finer things in life," he said, giving a condescending look towards the huntress. "And yes, he gave me an address to find his place in Loc Lac. He was in Azale Town to purchase some supplies for his studio."

"It was lucky that you ran into each other like that."

"Maybe even _too_ lucky," Rosa said, poking her head through the canvas in front of the wagon to 'join' them up front. "Maybe there's some higher power that preordained your meeting, like some sort of divine plot, or maybe it was… _DESTINYYYYY."_

"…Is she still drunk?" Lloyd asked, shaking his head in confusion as Rosa pulled her head back into the carriage and began laughing.

"I wouldn't put the possibility past her. Make sure she doesn't try to climb on top of the wagon or something, would you?"

"Got it."

Hasara Landing wasn't much farther then, only about a day and a half traveling north. The first thing that Lloyd noticed was that it had become very, very hot. The air had shifted from a clean and crisp feel to an airy, dry one. The grassy fields, trees, and mountains that he had grown accustomed to gradually turned into flat, cracked earth with a few tufts of dried grass here and there.

Then there was the sand. He loved beaches as much as the next guy, but with all the sand blowing around he was finding it hard to open his eyes or speak. Selipa had directed him towards a newer-looking crate in the wagon, which upon opening he found long tan colored cloaks, face wrappings, and some goggles with glass lenses.

"Those are designed for traveling on the sandsea and in the desert," she explained. "I sold my last set a few months ago, so I picked some up for everyone. That way we wouldn't have too much trouble with all the sand."

"Your preemptiveness is appreciated!" Lloyd called up to the front, pulling the cloak on over his leather armor and pulling the face cover up over his mouth. He opted to wear his sunglasses instead of the goggles, though. Fortunately the things had survived the journey with few scratches; they were made to survive extremes, sure, but he honestly wasn't expecting them to hold up so well.

A few hours before they reached the landing, the Great Desert came into sight. Lloyd hadn't been quite sure what to expect, since Rosa and Selipa had just told him to wait and see for himself. Now he could understand why. The desert was a massive expanse of blazing white sand that churned and sifted about like waves on the ocean. He couldn't help but feel that walking on the surface of the sand would be impossible, and when he questioned Rosa about it, her only response was:

"Make sure you have a rope around your waist and something strong to pull you out."

Lloyd was… largely unimpressed by Hasara Landing itself, though. He'd been expecting an actual settlement or something, but all that he found there was two buildings- an inn and a smaller hut-like store that one could buy passage to Loc Lac from- and about a dozen docks. Most of them had long, thin skiffs tied to them that somehow kept above the burning white sand of the Great Desert without sinking. One of the ships was significantly larger than the other ones, and had a giant drill-like protrusion sticking out the front that Rosa referred to as a Dragonator. It didn't really take much for him to understand what it did, but he was more concerned with what kind of creatures such a massive weapon would have been necessary to fight. He almost asked how effective they were against the Alatreon, but he decided it would be for the best to keep a lid on that.

Rosa and Lloyd unloaded the boxes and crates from the wagon while Selipa bought passage for the three into Loc Lac, and after a quick bite to eat in the inn, their sandskiff shoved off from the docks. He was relieved to learn that the journey wouldn't take more than a day. He gawked, though, when the crewmembers told him that there weren't enough rooms below deck and that they'd have to share a space.

"Whew, this Barioth gear really doesn't do well in hot places, does it?" Rosa had said as they stepped into their cramped cabin, fanning herself with one of her hands. After a moment, she turned and gave him a coy wink. "Say Lloyd, wanna help me get-"

"NO."

"Aww, you're no fun some days, you know that?"

Despite a rather uncomfortable night aboard the vessel, Lloyd woke up bright and early the next day and made his way up top to make sure he'd be able to see the desert city as soon as it appeared. Rosa and Selipa joined him not long after, and the trio watched as the city appeared from behind a large outcropping of rock their skiff was sailing around.

All he could say was, they had not been kidding about this place being huge.

Even from that distance, he could see that the walls of the city rose several hundred feet up from the ground. A peculiar set of structures hung over the side of one of the walls in a manner similar to that of the Lost Hive in Nastre (and which made Lloyd worry for the sanity of whoever thought living over a two hundred foot drop into the sandsea was a good idea), but most impressively was the massive tower-like protrusion rising up from the middle of the city, dwarfing even the city walls in height.

"That's the Loc Lac Tower," Rosa explained. "Pretty much everything in the city is run partially within it, but you'll see a lot more to do with the government and the Hunter's Guild inside."

"Exactly what is that thing made out of?" he marveled, staring up at the spike-like protrusions jutting out the sides.

"The legend is that a massive elder dragon crashed into the middle of the oasis in Loc Lac," Selipa said. "That's supposed to be one of its teeth."

"T… that's… Your expect me to believe that thing is a giant _tooth?"_

"I guess 'tusk' would make more sense considering the elder dragon it probably came from, but technically…"

Towers made from giant monster teeth. That was certainly a new one.

Their skiff made its way towards the city, as well as several other similar vessels that drew near to them in order to squeeze through the entryways into the city walls. After a few more minutes, the skiff came to a stop, and after the crew tied the ship to the dock, he was allowed to disembark along with the others.

He didn't really get to enjoy that privilege at first since they had to unload all of Selipa's things first, sure, but afterwards he got to see what this hunting capital was all about. Admittedly, the city wasn't quite as impressive as the locales from his time, but there was a certain charm to that. He typically didn't like being surrounded by tall skyscrapers before, and the only thing that could equate here was the Loc Lac Tower. All around the cobblestone streets, civilians and hunters garbed in armor of all kinds mulled about, selling or buying wares from the stalls and bazaar-style shops. He saw quite a few interesting things for sale, but he couldn't go check since Selipa had stuck him with her wares while she and Rosa rented a wagon for them.

As he looked about at everything going on around him, though, something to the side caught his eye. He saw a small cat-like creature with a calico coat seated against the outer wall of the shop Rosa and Selipa were in. He supposed it wouldn't have been a stretch to assume that cats had survived this long into the future, but this thing was at least three feet long. Plus, it was wearing a red jacket and a hat.

Now, there were very few things in life that Lloyd would outright admit were cute. Cats were one such thing. He took a few steps towards the creature and cocked his head to the side curiously, and as he drew near the creature looked up at him.

"Can I help you, nya?"

"Ack! It talks!" he yelped, taking a step back in surprise as the creature continued to look up at him with its large blue eyes.

"That's a little rude of meow to say," the creature huffed before pushing itself up. "But purrhaps the reason you reacted like that is because you're a Lost that's never met a Felyne before, nya?"

"A… a feline? Well, uh… I've never seen cats that can _speak_ before…"

"Well, you'd best get used to it, beclaws there are plenty of us inside Loc Lac. Now then, if you'll excuse me, I have impurrtent business to attend to, nya."

Lloyd wordlessly watched the cat creature shake itself slightly before scurrying off into the crowds and disappearing from sight, leaving him standing there with his mouth agape. He was still like that when Rosa and Selipa came out of the building a few moments later.

"Something the matter, Lloyd?"

"T-there was a talking cat! Nobody told me there were talking cats! It was wearing a little jacket, and-and a little hat with a yellow plume, and it _walked!_ It stood upright like a person and just walked off! What the hell was it and where can I get one?!"

Lloyd was rather disappointed to learn that Felynes (apparently it was spelled with a 'Y') were not in fact pets at all, but rather actual species of creatures that had lived alongside humans for ages. Apparently some offered work as servants or housekeepers (and Lloyd decided that once he got a house he would hire at least three), and in some places they even fought alongside hunters against the monsters they faced. After loading up the wagon, the trio began to make their way through the city once again, and Lloyd got to see even more of the city.

Loc Lac was set up with lots of thoroughfares and connecting streets, which Rosa explained to him was a way to help prepare for monster attacks, though he wasn't quite sure how even after her explanation. Apparently it was a style shared by a lot of the villages they had visited though. After moving away from the docks, most of the structures were turned from bazaar-like tents and stalls into three or four story high buildings and houses that were clearly meant to be permanent settlements. He could see a portion of the oasis as they crested a hill after a few more minutes, and he marveled at the sight of the clear blue water off which the sun reflected in several places.

"The inn I planned for us to stay at shouldn't be too far from here," Selipa said. "Once we arrive and unpack, we'll see about looking for those friends of yours, alright?"

"Yeah…" Lloyd replied quietly, keeping his gaze fixated on the sprawling city before him.

He had finally made it. He was in Loc Lac City. It wouldn't be long before he found Zack and Fala now.

 _Just a few steps behind you guys,_ he thought as Selipa spurred the Aptonoth onwards towards the inn.

* * *

 **Author Notes: Please Review! So the alternate title of this chapter was "Lloyd has a Bad Time". I'm pretty sure you all can understand why.**

 **I'll be honest, for a shorter story like this one, I wasn't quite sure if the love triangle thing would work out too well, but I tend to create characters with so much details about them that I find it rather difficult to leave some of them out. Frontier Lineage was an exception, since most of the characters were exaggerations of the characters from The Hunter's Oath and that story was even shorter than this one. Trying to cram all of those bits of information into a story without detracting from the plot is a little hard to pull off, but I'm quite pleased with how this turned out.**

 **One other detail that went into Lloyd's character is that he is absolutely a cat person. After I realized that I never had Lloyd meet a Felyne before, I decided it was almost integral to his arrival in Loc Lac, especially after the three day hell that was Azale Town. Though fitting with the theme of this chapter's working title, I almost had that same Felyne give him a claw to the face after he got a little too excited about the prospect of a talking cat. I felt he'd suffered enough this chapter.**

 **Playing: Hyrule Warriors Legends, Super Smash Bros 4, Fire Emblem Fates**

 **Watching: Noragami, Silver Spoon, The Jungle Book**


	6. Chapter 6

**The Lost Civilization: Driven**

 **By: Thomas A. Hawk**

 **Edited by: dashboardgecko**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Monster Hunter. The rights of the game belong entirely to Capcom. This is a fanwork taking place in the setting of The Lost Civilization, another fanwork of the Monster Hunter games. The world and its characters, apart from those newly created for the sake of this story, are property of dashboardgecko**

* * *

Chapter 6- The Lost

With a weary sigh, Lloyd wiped the sweat from his brow and made his way back towards the stall Selipa had set up on the thoroughfare. The street was incredibly busy with foot traffic, both hunters and ordinary civilians alike, yet even after almost a week in the desert city he hadn't seen heads or tails of Zack or Fala. Rosa hadn't been kidding when she said this could take a while, but he hadn't been expecting it to be this difficult to track them down.

When he wasn't looking for his friends, he was lending a hand at Selipa's stall, which he hoped might at least help him meet someone who did know where the other two were. He still owed Selipa quite a bit of zenny for helping him get to the city and covering a lot of expenses on the way, but it helped to have someone who knew anything about the city to tag along with as well. He'd have gotten hopelessly lost in the crowded streets in no time at all otherwise.

Despite his initial excitement upon arrival in Loc Lac, Lloyd had quickly realized that this place wasn't quite as spectacular as he had first assumed. For one, the air was incredibly tense. He didn't have to speak with many people to learn that tensions between the Lost and the Therians were at an all-time high. He wasn't even allowed to leave the Southern District because of the barricade set up to keep the Lost and those who sympathized with them in. Even though most of the inhabitants of the district seemed to be Lost, there were still many non-Lost that would go about causing trouble, slinging insults and just doing their absolute best to make life miserable for them. A few hunters had even given him crap for wearing his leather armor.

Then there was the Lost themselves. Lloyd hadn't really run into many since Nastre, and even though Azale Town was supposed to have quite a few, he only met a handful, and they seemed more or less like ordinary people to him. But here, almost every pedestrian that wasn't wearing some kind of armor was a Lost. He didn't think it was so bad at first, but that was before he really understood what the Lost madness was. His really _was_ tame in comparison to the other people he saw; some seemed to be suffering from schizophrenia, others switched between languages at the drop of a hat, and those were the just common ones. Many of them rambled on about things from their culture, even while just as many seemed to have reasonably adjusted to this new world. It was jarring, to say the least.

And, on top of all of that, apparently there had recently been some kind of incident in the Flooded Forest region (he assumed from the name that it was some kind of tropical rainforest) involving a criminal organization and a huge number of disappearing hunters. He'd been mostly distracted by his search for the others, but he'd heard enough about this place to understand that it was basically human trafficking and dog fighting combined into a whole mess of awful. He'd seen a few of the hunters that had returned from the place, and they looked _rough._ One girl was even missing both of her legs, while another person was completely wrapped from head to toe in bandages.

He found out from a few customers that the entire thing came down as a result of the actions of the Lost hunters, Levin, Ellie, and a fellow named Harker, as well as a few others. The mention of their names got his hopes up, especially after what Selipa and Rosa had told him a few weeks before about them disappearing for a while, but word on the street was that Ellie and Harker had both died on the return trip due to an illness, and Levin had been arrested almost immediately upon arrival to the city for angering the Alatreon. Oh, and apparently the council representative of the Southern District had been stabbed by a particularly insane member of the Lost.

So, pretty much every Lost hero was out of the picture.

Fortunately for Lloyd and Selipa, though, Rosa was able to get through the barricade with relative ease, since she wasn't pegged as a Lost sympathizer like the trader was, which Lloyd concluded was because of her largely neutral attitude towards the whole situation. The huntress was able to get them some information about the other districts too, though even that news was typically grim at best. Levin had apparently been paraded around the city by some guy on the city council named Zhanin before completely vanishing- no doubt because of Zhanin himself, who Lloyd was very quickly growing to despise the more he learned about the guy- and much of the populace outside the Southern District was being rallied towards the idea of driving the Lost out of the city entirely.

There was one piece of good news he had learned, though. Apparently Rosa had some ties with another huntress named Kerrigan, who was a close friend of the Lost hunters. According to her, both Harker and Ellie were in fact alive and well, just recovering from the illness they had gotten. Levin had lied to the Guild in order to keep them from getting arrested or denied treatment, which Lloyd had to admit was a pretty bold move. In exchange for that information, though, Kerry had made Rosa promise to help bring her the same info she got for Lloyd and Selipa, as she was confined to the Southern District as well, and that was on top of keeping quiet about what she had learned. As a result, the pair had been seeing much less of the huntress lately.

Lloyd couldn't help but let out a groan as he seated himself in the shade of Selipa's stall, watching as the trader finished a sale and waved good-bye to the hunters that had been shopping there. Everything just seemed to be going downhill for the Lost, and there was next to nothing he could actually do about it at this point. He couldn't even find Zack and Fala, and he'd visited almost every tavern around the inn he was staying at already, including the one with the behemoth of a woman they called a bartender. They must've been closer to the Hive or something… He just hoped that he could find them before everything really went to shit. If the Lost got exiled from Loc Lac, there was almost no chance at all that he'd ever find them.

If there was any consolation to this, it was that the Alatreon had stopped tormenting him for the entire week now, which was quite the record considering it used to be an every-other-day thing. He'd been able to sleep easier at night, at the very least. Despite this, though, he couldn't help but feel like the dragon was plotting something even worse for him…

"Why the long face, Lloyd?" Selipa asked, taking a seat beside him and drinking from her waterskin. "I know it's tough, but we'll be able to track them down eventually."

"I hope so," he replied, watching the people on the street going about their business. "I just really wasn't expecting things to be _this_ bad… For the Lost, I mean."

"It definitely hasn't been easy for them, but you're right. Things have gotten worse since I was last here."

"Travelling almost seemed easier than life is here," Lloyd sighed. "And I've only been here a week. I can't even imagine how much Fala and Zack have had to put up with around here…"

"I'm sure they've managed just fine," she assured, patting his shoulder. "You talk highly about them all the time, after all. If anything, they're probably more worried about you."

"Maybe… Do you mind helping me look around the Hive after closing? Chances of finding them around there are probably the best."

"Sure! I wouldn't even mind closing up a little earlier today; I've made a pretty good profit already. Help me gather the merchandise up and we can be on our way!"

He had to admit, it was a little awkward spending so much time with the trader. Normally Rosa was around to tease them or at least balance the scene out a little with her relatively brusk attitude, but since the huntress was normally nowhere to be seen now, they'd been spending a lot more time alone together. He'd likely be thinking less of this if he hadn't learned about Selipa's feelings for him a while back, and how she regarded it as a curse of sorts, but the fact that she knew he was aware of it and was still acting like she always did in spite of that fact made him feel a little guilty, especially when he occasionally caught her gaze and recognized that hint of sadness in her expression before her cheery smile came back.

There really wasn't much he could do about it, though, so he was trying his best to act as he always did as well. He had to focus on finding the others like he had set out to do in the first place. The pair quickly packed up Selipa's wares into a couple boxes and hauled them back to the inn they were staying at before making their way towards the massive structure reaching up the city wall. It was later in the afternoon now, and the heat of the sun overhead was especially harsh, so they kept to the side alleys for shade the buildings provided.

"You know Lloyd, maybe we've been going about this the wrong way," Selipa commented as they rounded a corner. "I mean, the district is huge, so searching on foot is going to take the longest."

"I'm not quite sure how else to look is the problem," he muttered. "There aren't any banners or signs I can put up saying 'hey guys, I'm here, look for me'. I can't exactly fly either, let alone climb one of these buildings for a better vantage point. Normally I'd just give one of them a call, but…"

He frowned as he pulled out the small rectangular screen from his pocket. The phone only had maybe ten percent of its battery left, but even if he had a full charge on the thing, there wasn't any service. The chances of Fala and Zack having their phones too was pretty unlikely. Communication used to be so much easier…

"Well, that still might be a possibility," she continued as he powered down and pocketed the device before looking over at her. "Remember those Felynes wearing the red outfits? Those are postal workers. Maybe you could leave a letter with one of them and they could locate Fala or Zack for you? Those little fuzz balls are pretty efficient with their work."

"Would that actually work? Wouldn't they need an address or something?"

"I'm pretty sure just a description would work out fine… And a pretty hefty tip too."

"Irk… Let's see if we can't find them on our own first," he said. "I'd prefer to try and conserve what little money I have if at all possible."

Try as they might, though, their search ended in failure. They spent the rest of the day going about the base of the Hive, visiting taverns and asking anyone who looked like they'd been in the city for awhile if they'd seen either of the Lost. The closest Lloyd got was a hunter mentioning someone who kind of resembled Zack challenging someone to an arm wrestling contest at a nearby bar several weeks ago (and that certainly sounded like something he would do) but even that visit turned up empty. Whether they were on the other side of the wall or just somewhere else entirely, he didn't know. He let out a defeated sigh as he and Selipa returned to the tavern long after sundown and returned to their shared room (the place had been almost fully booked, but fortunately there were two beds in the last available room, so neither had to spend the nights on the floor or anything).

"Don't lose heart yet, tough guy. I'm sure we'll find them soon," Selipa said with a quick nod as she clambered into her bed. "Do you mind getting that candle?"

"Yeah, sure thing."

He quickly extinguished the small flame beside his bed before turning over and shutting his eyes. Even he couldn't help but start to feel that maybe his search _was_ pointless. This city was huge. There were so many places to search, and the possibility that Zack and Fala weren't even there anymore was still very real. The only lead he had was cold before he even got to the city. Was there even much of a point to searching? He could only let out a sullen, defeated sigh as the thought of finding the pair began to grow further and further away.

"Don't even think about giving up, Lloyd."

He blinked in surprise at Selipa's words, though he remained silent. He supposed the excessive sighing wasn't exactly helping hide his thoughts.

"I know it's been a rough ride for you, and having your doubts is perfectly normal. You're just human. But if you give up now, then what was the point of it all? You traveled halfway across the country for this, I mean. You fought monsters, and bandits, and-and even despite the danger, the chance of dying, you still kept going forward. You never once thought about giving up before, and I sure as hell won't let you give up now. Besides," she laughed lightly, "after everything Rosa and I did for you, we want to see you all reunite too. So don't lose hope. This ride isn't over yet."

He couldn't help but smile a little at her words. She was right. They _were_ close, and he _had_ been through a ton to get here, enough that it would have been ten times easier to just give up early on. But he was here, and there was no way he was just going back. He _would_ find them. He wouldn't stop until he did.

"I needed that, Sel. Thanks."

* * *

Lloyd immediately shot up in bed. It was like an alarm clock had gone off right next to his head, yet the room was eerily quiet. It must've been early in the morning- he could see the sun peeking over the city from the window- but Selipa certainly hadn't been the cause for his abrupt awakening. She was still fast asleep in her bed across the room. Maybe Rosa had snuck in to play a joke on him? No, the door was still locked, and he couldn't hear any giggling from the few obvious hiding spots there were in the room. So what was-

 **Lost.**

The man's breath caught in his throat as his hand shot up to the side of his head, as if from instinct. After hearing that voice so many times before, how could he not expect the mental assault that usually accompanied it? His breaths quickened, and goosebumps formed over his skin as he anticipated a lance of pain to split into his skull, yet it never came.

 **Lost; it's such an appropriate name for such a people as you. You have lost so much, haven't you all? Your homes, your lives, your world, your precious technology. All gone, leaving you with nothing but the broken raiment that is left to you.**

Lloyd began to shake in place as the dragon's voice continued to resound in his skull. Why was it so calm? This was nothing like the brutal tone it had when it tortured him… And for whatever reason, that was only _more_ chilling to him. Something was very wrong.

 **No doubt many of you are wondering at the words that you hear, and their source. No doubt a great many of you are questioning your sanities, and wondering whether this voice resounding in your skull is just another like the ones that are already there. But let me assure you of this: I am something far, far worse. I am a creature far beyond your power and understanding. I have existed for millennia, looking upon humanity as it crawled about, trying to attain the dominance over the world that it believed it deserved. I am the one that would reduce the pride that humans had in themselves, to show them how to properly fear the world around them and the beings that deserved their respect!**

 **It was I that erased the world of the Lost, reducing your cities and technology and weapons to nothing! It was I that wiped out the civilization you'd built up to conquer the world and everything in it! And it was I that imprisoned you all in the crystals which carried you here from your ruined existence, allowing you to live in this time in hopes that you would learn from the failures of your past and come to respect and fear my existence!**

 **It was I, the creature that you humans have seen fit to deem the 'Alatreon'!**

He shuddered and gasped, apparently loud enough to rouse Selipa from her slumber. The trader sat up and yawned, sleepily rubbing her eyes before glancing over at him.

"Is something the matter…? It's not even sunrise yet…"

He didn't respond, though, wincing as the Alatreon began speaking in his mind once more. His mind was so accustomed to the pain that the dragon's voice brought that he could practically feel the skull-splitting sensation even now.

 **I once had hope for you 'Lost'. I imagined that with your intelligence and anger towards me, you would become a fine species of human, one that would provide me with challenge and respect. I hoped that you would be able to properly become a notable example to your species, one that feared my existence and came when I called.**

 **But you have all failed me! You are all weak disappointments! You have offered me nothing to enjoy your with your pathetic lives! Your kind has done nothing but infuriate me since you all awoke from the crystal prisons I buried you in, refusing to show the respect and fear towards me that I deserve! That is my right!**

A brief flash of the Loc Lac Tower shot into his mind then, though Lloyd had expected something far more horrible and scarring. The Alatreon usually showed him things much, much worse, and his reflexes caused him to physically brace himself for an impact. By then Selipa had awoken more fully, and she gave him a concerned look before getting out of bed.

"Lloyd? You okay? You look really pale…"

 **I've had enough of you! I despise all humans! Your resistance to follow the path that has been laid out for you is abominable, and I will suffer your opposition to my will no longer! Your kind has proven nonconforming to what I demand of you, and I will not allow this to continue! You should fear me! Hate me! But you have proven too chaotic to even follow those simple tasks, fleeing and hiding and ignoring me due to your pathetic sentimentalism!**

Again he was shown the Loc Lac Tower, and once again he shifted back fearfully in his bed in anticipation of a gruesome image or a mental spike of pain. He heard Selipa say something to him, but by this point he was too focused on the Alatreon's speech to even comprehend what she had said.

 **But enough is enough. I am sick of you Lost, and I am disgusted with humans entirely! I am coming to your city, Lost, the precious fortress your species has built. Humans! I am coming to the impending grave that you have called 'Loc Lac'! I will burn the memory of your people from existence, along with the rest of the humans in that city! I will reduce to ash the arrogance that human 'monster hunters' have built for themselves! Let them never forget the power I possess, and the place of dominance I hold over your species! Loc Lac will be destroyed by my power!**

 **Bide your time well, Lost. You have one day to prepare yourselves for death. It was a mistake for me to transport you here to this time, but it is one that I will soon rectify. I am coming for you, and when I arrive, you will suffer, and you will die, as will the rest of your precious Loc Lac.**

It was then that finally, the presence in his mind pulled away, and he found himself able to breathe again. Selipa was worriedly shaking his shoulders, and he returned her gaze with a blank look as the realization of what the Alatreon had said finally dawned on him.

"Lloyd?! What's the matter?! Come on, say something!"

"We… we've got trouble coming."

* * *

Lloyd wasn't quite sure what to expect when he and Selipa rushed out the front of the tavern after he equipped his leather armor and his weapons, but widespread panic and chaos was what greeted them. Apparently he hadn't been the only one targeted by the Alatreon's speech: every single Lost in the city seemed to have heard the dragon's words, and now the entire district was in a state of disorder. People were scurrying about, some shouting their heads off about the impending doom that was soon to befall the desert city. They likely would have spread into the rest of the city by now if the barricades hadn't kept them all penned in like this…

"God, it's even worse than I thought," he bemoaned, backing up quickly to avoid the quickly-growing crowd of panicking Lost. "Selipa, we've got to do something to try and keep them calm!"

"What can we do?!" she shouted over the noise of the mob. "There's no way we can get all of them to listen to us like this! And even if there was, what could we possibly say?!"

He hated to admit that she was right. He wasn't good at this sort of thing. There was no way he could get a mob of this size to clam up and listen to empty words. A screaming child or a disinterested animal on the other end of a camera lens was one thing, but this was completely out of his hands.

"We've got to think of something, and fast… The Alatreon's trying to throw the city into chaos!"

"Lloyd, slow down for a second!" the trader urged. "You know that this is the hunting capital of Theron, right? The biggest army of hunters in the country is right here! Attacking Loc Lac would be nearly impossible for any creature, Alatreon included!"

"No, you don't understand… This thing could _easily_ demolish this city! I've seen it myself! Not even the armies from my time could handle this thing, and I'd like to think our weapons were at least a little tougher than swords and bowguns! And they were actually coordinated, not a panicked mass of people going completely mental out of fear!"

He grunted lightly as someone bumped past him, screaming about the end times like half of the mob before them.

"There have to be some people that can help get these crowds calm…"

"Wait, what about Rosa?" Selipa asked a moment later. "She knows lots of hunters that are on the Lost's side! If we can track her down, maybe we can try to get a larger group that'll be able to calm these people down! They can't all be like this, right? You're not shouting your head off, at least."

Little did she know that much of his thought process at the moment was devoted towards internal screaming.

"A-alright, let's try and find Rosa," Lloyd said. "While we're at it, let's see if we can find some calmer Lost to help us out…"

* * *

The next four hours or so were a hectic race around the district in search of the huntress and other people that could potentially help sway the crowds of panicked Lost into remaining level headed. They weren't able to locate Rosa (which would have been a miracle anyways, all things considered) though they had managed to start getting a few hunters and other Lost that weren't losing their minds to assist. Even then, Lloyd knew it wasn't nearly enough. There were thousands of Lost in the district, and only a few dozen people actively trying to stop them from panicking. This was a game of numbers, and the numbers were not looking good.

The only good thing he could think of was that the crowd hadn't devolved into rioting and violence. There hadn't been any word of the barricades falling either, so the Lost were still penned in as far as he knew. Whether that would last, though, remained to be seen. The entire situation almost made _him_ want to lose his mind.

"We aren't getting anywhere fast enough like this," Selipa huffed as they came to a stop in an alleyway for a short rest. "We just can't keep up! I have no idea where Rosa could even be in these crowds…"

"Then we're going to need a plan B," the photographer replied, wiping the sweat from his brow. "How likely is it for there to be someone egging the crowds on? Blowing things out of proportion and the like?"

"I-I dunno, probably pretty likely… Why?"

"The first step in getting people to calm down about something- at least, the way it worked back in my time- was getting the media to shut the hell up about whatever it was. It's a stretch, but if we can get those people in particular to calm down, maybe put ourselves in their place…"

"…We could get them to listen to us instead! Genius, Lloyd!"

"Err… Not really, it was just common sense… But I'll take the compliment. For now, I think it's best if we split up and try to tackle different crowds. Head west, and I'll take the center. If you see Rosa, or anyone else we found earlier, tell them to move east."

"Are you sure splitting up is a good idea?!" she called as he began to jog in the direction of the nearest mob. He turned around for a moment and spread his arms in a wide shrug.

"No, but it's the best we can do for now, right?!"

He turned back around and rushed off down the street, pushing and shoving past the members of the mob in his efforts to get to the front. They seemed to be moving towards one of the barricades, and the way they were congealing made it seem like they were trying to listen to someone at the front. How exactly anyone could hear someone else over the constant shouting about the end times and the general panic that had taken most of the district was beyond him. What he did know, though, was that nothing good could come of them coming to blows with the guards stationed at the barricade if things _did_ turn violent. Opinions of the Lost were bad enough as it was!

The trouble was, he had no idea how far away the front of this mob even was. To him, the crowd was like an endless sea of heads, each one shouting or shoving or losing its mind in this ill-fated march. He wasn't making nearly as much progress as he would have liked either... The mob was just too dense to move through quickly. He briefly considered trying to climb onto one of the nearby buildings to see ahead, but he wasn't itching to break his neck any time soon, so he shoved the thought from his mind and kept pushing forwards. After a few minutes of this, though, he saw a relatively empty alley off to the side.

 _Maybe I can cut through there and circle around to the front,_ he thought, making his way towards the space between the buildings as fast as the crowd would let him. Eventually, he made it into the alley, and Lloyd began to sprint down the open space, sharply cutting a corner and hurrying on ahead. He grimaced as he saw a plume of smoke rising above the buildings, probably in the direction of one of the barricades. He had to hurry…

Lloyd rushed out of the alley and onto the street running parallel to the one the crowd was on. He glanced to the side, taking note of the fact that a crowd almost as big as the one he had just left was present… except they were heading _away_ from the barricades. Why was this group heading in the complete opposite direction?

His answer came in the sound of a small army's worth of metal boots marching down the street from behind him, and the photographer whirled about in surprise to see a mass of figures garbed in metal armor and wielding all manner of weaponry marching into the district, led by a man wearing a bright red uniform of some kind.

"What the hell is this?!" he grimaced, taking a few steps back and glancing at all of the armored soldiers heading towards him. The man in the red uniform raised one of his arms and pointed directly at him, and a pair of guards rushed out of the group towards him. Lloyd cursed before turning to flee down the alley, but he found that a number of guards were already moving down the path he had taken, presumably to confront the other crowds. He was cut off from that escape route, so he whirled about and began to sprint off towards the rest of the Lost down the street, but due to his brief hesitation the guards were able to catch up with him easily, each one grabbing hold of an arm before dragging the struggling Lost back towards the red-uniformed man.

"Well, what have we here?" the man remarked, looking over Lloyd with an incredibly scrutinizing gaze. "Lost, no doubt, yet armed to the teeth, and wearing armor no less. What are you, some pitiful attempt at a Lost 'hero'?"

"I just happened to be walking down the street when you sent these assholes after me, you son of a bitch!" Lloyd shot back, pulling against the guards in an effort to escape their grip. "Who the hell do you think you are?!"

"I see someone isn't aware of who the members of the city council are, but what can you expect from a foolish, insane man such as yourself? No matter, I haven't the time to deal with a single man when there's a district full of Lost to dispose of."

"You really think marching an army into the district is going to solve this?! You're the one with a screw loose here!"

Lloyd grunted in pain as one of the guards standing beside the council member stepped forwards and drove a gauntleted fist into his stomach, causing him to double over in pain.

"You will not speak ill of Mister Zhanin, Lost! Know your place!"

"Enough of this," the council member sighed. "Siefeld, if you would be so kind, take care of this fool for us. We have idled long enough as is."

"Are you certain that's a wise decision, sir?" the man who slugged Lloyd remarked. "As head of your guard, it's my duty to ensure your safety, and-"

"If you're so concerned, then make it quick," Zhanin ordered before moving ahead with the rest of his army. Siefeld roughly took hold of Lloyd's hood before dragging the Lost towards another alley. He struggled and pulled against the man's grip, but he was still somewhat winded from the blow he had taken earlier, so the effort was half-hearted at best. He watched helplessly as the guards continued their march into the district before Siefeld made a quick turn into an open space between several buildings, maybe about a dozen yards wide and just as long. He yelped in surprise as the man yanked his hood and threw him forwards, sending the photographer rolling across the yard for a few feet.

"Sir Zhanin requested I be quick about this," the guard stated, drawing a large claymore and pointing it at the man. "I would prefer you not struggle much."

"Ugh… you assholes really have no morals at all, do you?" Lloyd spat as he pushed himself into a crouch. "Believe it or not, us Lost are people too! We just want to live normal lives, but that got stolen from us by that bastard of a dragon called the Alatreon! We've been forced to live in an unfamiliar world where everything we knew before barely even matters! We… _I've_ been torn away from my friends and family with no way of knowing if I'll ever even see them again! And you really think that after all the shit I've been through- that the Lost have been through- we'll just quietly walk out of this city?!"

The photographer reached up for the handle of the broadsword strapped to his back and pulled the blade free as he pushed himself up to his feet, aiming the tip at the man's chest.

"Just try and make me."

"With pleasure."

With a loud roar, the guard charged at Lloyd, raising his sword high and swinging it down at his head. The Lost quickly brought his blade around and braced his palm against the flat of the blade, grunting as Siefeld's claymore slammed into his sword with a resounding _clang._ The force of the blow was enough to send a shock through Lloyd's arm and force him back a few steps to regain his balance. This guy was strong, maybe even stronger than Rosa. The fact that he could tell that much just from one swing was proof that this guy wasn't Zhanin's guard captain for no reason.

Lloyd shook his arm to get the feeling back into it before darting towards the armored man, grasping the pommel of his broadsword with his other hand and swinging it upwards at Siefeld's chest. The guard swiftly brought his claymore around and blocked the strike, grunting lightly as the weight of the blade shifted his blade slightly, but otherwise the strike didn't have much effect. Lloyd gritted his teeth before swinging again from the other direction this time, only to have the attempt blocked similarly to the first.

"Weak, just like the rest of you Lost," Siefeld sneered before shoving him back with ease and swinging his sword towards Lloyd's neck. The photographer ducked low before the strike could connect, wincing as he felt the blade slice through the air above his head, before lunging towards the guard's stomach in a somewhat awkward-but-powerful lunge.

Unfortunately for him, though, Lloyd's blade simply rebounded off the thick plates covering the man's upper body with the sound of clashing metal. He grunted in surprise and recoiled from the blow, just barely getting outside of the man's reach as Siefeld swung at him again.

I'd say first blood, but you sure as hell aren't bleeding…" Lloyd grimaced, bringing his sword back up as he circled around the guard's side. He briefly debated trying to run or get assistance, but given how fast the other guards had been, he had no doubt that Siefeld would be able to outpace him too. Plus, it was a bad idea to turn your back on your opponent when they wanted you dead, and based on the few swings this guy had taken, he _really_ wanted Lloyd dead.

Lloyd readied himself as the guard charged him again, slashing his claymore down at the Lost at a high speed. Lloyd hopped back to dodge the attack, and as Siefeld slashed at him once more, Lloyd swung his blade upwards, slamming the edge into the flat of the guard's sword. The force of the blow was enough to force the guard's arms up, and Lloyd quickly struck again, bashing the edge of his broadsword against Siefeld's chestplate. The blow knocked the man back a step and left a thin dent in the metal, but otherwise the guard was unharmed.

"Is that really your best, Lost? If so, you might as well stop this foolishness now, because you'll never cut through my armor."

He hated to admit that Siefeld was right. Whatever metal his armor was made from, it was _tough._ He might stand a chance if Siefeld wasn't fighting back and he could just keep wailing on him, but that wasn't exactly an option at this point. The man was far stronger than he was, and he likely couldn't outrun him… But that armor was pretty heavy, right? And wielding a giant sword like that had to be a little awkward too, even with his strength. He had the advantage of dexterity. Lloyd smirked as a plan started to formulate in his mind.

There was no chance that he could beat this guy in a straight fight, but he _could_ outmaneuver him. He'd have to fight smart if he wanted to survive this, and Lloyd was not intent on kicking the bucket anytime soon. Not until he found Zack and Fala, at least.

"Alright, let's see how you like this then!" Lloyd yelled as he dashed towards the armored man. He held his blade out to his side, as though he were going to swing from the right, and Siefeld quickly raised his sword in preparation of the incoming blow. Just a step before the man, though, Lloyd suddenly kicked off to the side, flanking the man on his unguarded right. He swung upwards at Siefeld's ribs, his blade clashing against the man's armor once more and leaving another dent, but also knocking the man back a step from the shock of the strike.

The photographer made to swing again, but Siefled quickly raised his arm up in defense, causing Lloyd's sword to clash off the back of his plated gauntlets with a loud scraping noise. He grunted as Siefeld slashed down at him with the inside edge of his claymore, and the Lost quickly defended the strike as he had the man's first blow, wincing at the sparks that erupted from the blades contacting one another. Siefeld's blade stabbed itself into the ground in front of them, and the handguard hooked over the side of Lloyd's broadsword, keeping him from simply pulling back or counterattacking.

Before he could react, though, Siefeld yanked his sword back up with a fierce battle cry, running the length of his claymore along Lloyd's sword and forcing his arms up. While Lloyd successfully guarded the worst of it, the tip of the guard's sword ended up clipping his waist and tearing a long line up his chest, easily cutting through the leather defense but just barely missing his flesh. Siefeld's swing concluded with him slamming the upper half of his blade into the flat of Lloyd's, tearing the blade from the Lost's grasp and sending it spinning into the air above them before clattering noisily on the roof of a nearby building.

The guard then surprised Lloyd with a shoulder charge, slamming the rounded metal pauldron on his arm into the photographer and sending him sliding across the ground with a heavy _thud_ and a gasp of pain. Lloyd let out a short cough before realizing that the guard had pursued him and was slashing his blade down at him. Lloyd swiftly rolled to the side to avoid the strike, hearing the edge of the blade slam into the dirt, before rolling back onto his feet and reaching for his side, grabbing hold of the fully-loaded USP holstered on his leg.

He whipped the gun out of its holster and pulled the trigger four times, landing four direct shots on the man's chest and causing Siefeld to stagger back from the force of the shots. Unfortunately, it seemed that even his pistol didn't have enough of a punch to pierce through this guy's armor, though the dents were much more noticeable. He shifted his aim up at the man's head, but Siefeld had learned very quickly that he didn't want to be on the other end of the barrel, darting to the side as quickly as he could while Lloyd fired his remaining shots at the man. There were two _pings_ as a couple shots struck his arm and thigh, but they did hardly anything to slow the man down. Lloyd cursed lightly before dropping the spent magazine from his gun and shoving a fresh one into place.

In the time he had spent reloading, though, Siefeld had closed the distance and lunged towards the photographer, slamming his boot into Lloyd's hand and kicking the firearm from his grip. He barely dodged the upward-angled follow up swing from Siefeld's claymore, rolling to the side and whipping his katana from its scabbard before assuming his combat stance.

"You're proving yourself to be entirely too bothersome," the guard scoffed. "Though you are putting up more of a fight than I thought one of you Lost would be capable of. What's your name?"

"Oh, we're doing this now?" Lloyd responded dryly, panting lightly from the effort of the fight. "Let me guess, you want to know my name so that you'll know what to carve into my tombstone when I'm dead or something, right?"

"Not at all. I wish to know it so I can ensure that no one ever hears of you again."

"Ooh, scary. Did you think of that one yourself, or did that asshole from the council help you practice your lines?"

"Mister Zhanin is much too busy dealing with you Lost to waste his time with such trivialities. As a matter of fact, I would prefer it if you would die much sooner, as I have already been away from his side for long enough."

"Hate to break it to you, but I'm not exactly keen on dying at all."

"What a shame that our opinions differ."

Lloyd readied himself as Siefeld charged towards him again, slashing the claymore at Lloyd's chest. The photographer hoped back a step and retaliated with a stab, though the guard was able to bat his katana aside with the back of his gauntlet before the blade could make contact. He slashed downwards at Lloyd's shoulder, but the photographer darted to the side and, with a quick spin, slashed a thin line into the man's upper arm. The strike actually cut one of the straps holding the guard's pauldron on, leaving the thick metal plate hanging loosely and uncomfortably from Siefeld's shoulder.

He quickly reached up and snapped the plate off, though, before hurling the object at Lloyd like it was a fastball. He let out a quick yelp as he twisted to the side to dodge the projectile, gasping as Siefeld again charged him, this time stabbing the claymore at Lloyd's gut. His awkward footing forced the photographer to throw himself to the ground to avoid the strike, though he landed harder on his shoulder than he thought he would, causing him to release his hold on his sword with a shout of pain.

Before he could reclaim the blade, he felt a plated shin slam into his side, kicking him onto his back and putting the blade just outside his reach. He grunted in surprise before rolling to the opposite side, right before Siefeld's blade pierced the ground he had been lying just a moment before. His katana was on the other side of the man now, but his gun was only a few feet to the side. He quickly retrieved the firearm and cocked it to chamber the first round as Siefeld once again rushed him.

Lloyd fired twice, striking Siefeld's chest and his armored shoulder, before hopping to the side to avoid another swing from the guard's blade. Siefeld quickly followed up with an high vertical slash that very well could have sliced the photographer clean in half had he not twisted out of the way at the last second. He brought his gun up to the man's torso as Siefeld made to swing once more, loosing several more shots into the guard's chestplate at nearly point blank range. Six shots rang into the air, and the guard was thrown onto his back with a heavy thud.

And even then, the man was still alive. The bullets had definitely made a mark on his chestplate, and there were a few cracks and splits in the dents where the shots had connected, but none of them had successfully pierced his armor. Lloyd cursed before dropping the now-spent magazine and loading a fresh one in its place, emptying his holster of the last one he kept stored there. Did he even have any more in his bag back at the inn? Now wasn't the best time to think about that.

He instead went for his katana while Siefeld was still getting back to his feet, clutching the curved blade in a reverse grip in his left hand. The guard kept an eye on the gun in Lloyd's hand as he began to approach once more, keeping his blade in front of himself, though whether it was to attack or defend himself, Lloyd couldn't quite tell. The man definitely seemed like he was wearing down, though… so was Lloyd, for that matter. This next exchange was likely going to be their last.

"Leave our city and never return, Lost!" Siefeld roared, a fiery look filling his eyes as charged headlong at Lloyd, his blade leveled beside his head. The photographer grunted in shock at the man's suicidal charge; he was willing to get shot if it meant taking Lloyd down too! Lloyd shot four times, though in his panic only two shots landed, and both pinged off of the man's armor uselessly as Siefeld closed the distance between them in a matter of seconds. Lloyd darted to the side as the man's blade slashed through the air towards him, narrowly avoiding the attack, and he lashed out with his katana twice, striking Siefeld's unprotected shoulder this time and slicing deeply into his flesh, and glancing the blade off of his armor with the second.

The guard staggered slightly as a small splash of blood it the ground, but he didn't relent, slashing once more towards Lloyd with the intent to cleave his head off. The photographer managed to duck beneath the strike, though, and Siefeld's momentum carried him slightly past the Lost. Lloyd twisted about then and stabbed the tip of his katana into the guard's unarmored back with a ferocious shout. The blade went straight through Siefeld's torso, and there was a slight scraping noise as the blade pierced through the damaged section on the front of the guard's chestplate. He let out a gurgled cry of pain as the blade pierced his torso.

Lloyd didn't finish there, though. Taking hold of the blade's handle with his other hand, the photographer began to shove Siefeld towards the wall a few feet in front of them, slamming the guard against the wooden surface and piercing through it with the length of his sword that jutted out of the man's torso. Releasing his hold on the blade, Lloyd leveled his gun at the guard's head.

"We're here to stay, Siefeld."

The man let out a short scream right before Lloyd pulled the trigger the first time. Three more pulls of the trigger, and the screaming stopped. A hole had been bored into the side of the guard's helmet, through which a steady trickle of blood was oozing out. His body had gone limp, and the claymore he'd been swinging so violently before was lying on the ground several feet back behind where his body was still pinned. After a moment, Lloyd turned his head away from the sight and took a deep breath. He'd had to kill a few times before- not since arriving in Theron, but back in his time- but he still hated the idea of doing so, even if it was in self-defense…

He hadn't even thought to spare the man, though. At least before he usually hesitated… He hadn't even killed one of the bandits that attacked Selipa's wagon, and they were criminals! This was a city guard, the head of a council member's security for that matter!

"I just murdered a civil officer," Lloyd huffed, taking a few steps back and resting his back against a different wall. Even if he had been defending himself, there was little chance that anyone else would listen to his side of the story, considering he was a Lost… This definitely wouldn't help opinions of the Lost either, now that he thought about it.

He turned his head to the side as he heard someone running down the alley, grimacing as he realized all of his weapons were either empty or out of his hands… All except the knife Fala had given him back in their time, he realized. Lloyd had only used it for mundane tasks like whittling tinder for fires or cutting ropes, but it might make a decent enough weapon… He reached for the small blade strapped to the back of his belt, praying quietly that whoever it was, it wasn't another guard, and that they didn't want to kill him too.

He breathed a sigh of relief as Selipa rounded the corner instead, her hand on the knife she usually carried with her. She surveyed the scene for a few moments, realizing that the fight that had just taken place was already over.

"I can assure you I haven't been caught in a worse situation than this," Lloyd said dryly, giving her a short wave as he continued to catch his breath.

"Geez... I heard your gun going off a whole bunch, so I figured you were in trouble. Are… you alright?"

"I'm not dying at the moment, but I'm probably going to go to jail for this, aren't I?"

"I… wouldn't deny the possibility of that, but as it is now, they'd have to arrest the entire district too. Everyone is going crazy now that Zhanin is dead-"

"Wait wait wait, Zhanin too? What happened to him?"

"He was stabbed in the chest with a hunting knife by the bartender at the Dual Horn Oasis. Word spread like wildfire, and now the guards he marched into the district are panicking, and the Lost are starting to retaliate… Things are getting really bad out there, Lloyd."

"And here I thought things might finally start to look up for once… Do you know where Rosa is yet? Things might be getting too far out of hand, but we have to try and stop these riots from getting any worse."

"One of the hunters we talked to said he might have seen her moving east, around the Hive. Take a second to catch your breath, and we'll go find her."

After recovering his katana (there was no way for him to get the broadsword, unfortunately) and holstering his empty pistol, Lloyd followed after Selipa as they made their way towards the Lost Hive. He was still a little shaken from his fight with Siefeld, and he could tell the trader was concerned from her frequent questions and worried looks, but he insisted on them pressing forwards regardless. If they didn't stop these riots somehow, the city would never be able to stand up to the Alatreon. It would be there in less than a day at best! If they weren't ready by then…

Still, at Selipa's insistence they stopped at the inn and she gave him a quick lookover (fortunately the inside of the building wasn't nearly as hectic as the outside was)to make sure he wasn't badly hurt. He had a thin cut on his chest from where Siefeld's blade had nicked him, and he had quite a few bruises as well, but fortunately it was nothing overly serious. They got moving after he threw off the ruined leather vest and pulled a cotton shirt on, and grabbed the one spare magazine he had left for his USP as well.

It took them a lot longer to make it to the Lost Hive than Lloyd had expected, though. The day before, it was a simple half hour stroll at most, but with the riots and fighting breaking out everywhere, there was no clear path to their goal that could be considered safe. They stopped several times to try and break up fights or prevent some Lost from slaughtering any of the guards they had managed to beat down. Still, by this point the majority of the Lost that were rioting had broken through the barricades already, and they were likely already further into the city.

So, by the time the pair reached the Lost Hive several hours later, the place was mostly abandoned. Lloyd let out a frustrated sigh as he inspected the damage done around the base of the structure. They had most definitely missed the huntress already, and they were too late to keep the riots contained… things were spiraling out of control. At Selipa's suggestion they headed towards the nearest barricade, but when that search turned up empty as well they decided to try and regroup with anyone else who had stopped rioting or who had been trying to prevent them from happening in the first place. Once more, this trip took far longer than he had been wishing for, as the district was filled with debris and fighting in several places that they had to avoid to the best of their ability, and some they had to outright quell on their own. Lloyd made sure to keep his katana sheathed for those, though. Apparently a hunter had riled up some more of the Lost again and led them into the city proper at some point, but Lloyd had been in another part of the district at the time. It was always something…

Only after running around the district for a few more hours did the pair manage to track down where Rosa was: she had been helping get the people who had been injured in the riots off the streets, and when they found her in the tavern she and a couple other hunters had been busy moving civilians into, the huntress looked absolutely exhausted, both on account of all the effort she'd likely been throwing in to stop the riots, and her choice of armor not helping stave off the heat of the desert. Her expression lit up upon seeing them enter the building, though.

"There you both are! I've been looking all over for you!" she said with a wide grin, waving them over to her table.

"We could say the same thing," Lloyd replied. "For some reason I thought you'd be trying to beat the crowds back yourself, but here you are helping people hurt less."

"Hey, I'm not entirely brutish, you know!"

"I'm just glad to see you're safe, Rosie," Selipa sighed as she took a seat opposite the huntress. "With everything that's been happening today, I thought even you might've gotten caught up in it and gotten yourself hurt."

"Aww, you are SO adorable when you get worried! But I'll fill you in on everything I've been up to in a minute. First, Lloyd? There's someone out back who wants to meet you."

"Huh? What do you…"

"He said he was an old friend."

A slight smile split her lips, and Lloyd's eyes widened in realization before he bolted for the back door of the tavern, all exhaustion forgotten. The shoved the wooden door open and stepped out into the shaded alley, glancing around quickly before his eyes landed on a figure garbed in brown cloak that ended just above his knees. Beneath that he could see a pair of baggy tan pants, and the beat up remains of black combat boots. The hood of the man's cloak was down, revealing a short head of light brown hair clearly grown out from a military style cut. He had an impressive growth of facial hair, as well as a pair of familiar green eyes. He turned his head in Lloyd's direction and, recognizing him immediately, a wide smile split his lips.

"I knew you'd swing by before too long, Lloyd."

"ZACK!"

He quickly rushed towards his old friend and wrapped his arms around his shoulders in a tight hug, letting out a long, joyful laugh at the sight of the man. Zack chuckled lightly before patting him on the back with his right arm, and after a few moments Lloyd released his grip on him.

"Damn, you've gotten a bit stronger since I saw you last," Zack said with a slight grin, his voice sounding a bit raspier than the photographer remembered but holding the same tone he had known for so many years before. "You look like you've been growing a beard of your own, man!"

Lloyd brought his hand up to his chin, feeling a light stubble had indeed grown out. Oddly enough, he'd never really paid attention to that before now. He chuckled lightly before turning to the side, noticing that Rosa and Selipa were both standing in the doorway of the tavern with elated expressions.

"I found Rosa when she was trying to deal with some of the Lost pressuring the barricade nearby the Hive," he explained. "She kept on saying 'where the hell are Selipa and Lloyd' and after I heard your name, I thought… well, I figured maybe it could've been you she was talking about. So I decided to tag along with her for a while, and here I am."

"Rosa needed _our_ help?" the photographer asked incredulously, shooting the huntress a questioning look.

"Hey, it was getting to be a lot for one person, tough guy."

"But man, do I have stories to tell you," Lloyd said, turning back towards Zack and patting his shoulder. "I mean, after all of this blows over, of course. It has not been an easy hike getting all the way to Loc Lac!"

"I can imagine! This world is a… really rough place like that, yeah? Almost felt like things were easier back in our time… yeah?"

Lloyd raised an eyebrow at the man's tone. Something was off about him. He was never that nervous. And why had it come on so strongly?

"You alright, Zack?"

"Huh? Uh…yeah, I-I'm great. Never better…"

Rosa and Selipa both exchanged glances and turned towards the pair where Lloyd's curiosity grew to concern.

"Zack, you've never been a good liar. What's the matter? It might've been a while, but I'm still the same guy you've known for god-knows-how many years."

Zack met his gaze, turned away, then looked back at him one more. His green eyes seemed like they were tearing up…

"Lloyd, I…"

The man staggered forward and wrapped his right arm around Lloyd's shoulders in a tight embrace.

"I screwed up, man… I screwed up so bad... I'm sorry…" he sobbed, burying his face into Lloyd's shoulder. "It's all my fault… I'm so sorry…"

"Hey, hey, nothing's your fault, Zack!" the photographer replied, patting his friend on the back reassuringly. "Why don't you just tell me what happened, man?"

"F… I-it's… It's Fala…

"Fala's dead, Lloyd."

Lloyd's heart skipped a beat as the words left Zack's lips, and he felt his entire body freeze over in horror. He pushed away from Zack and held onto his shoulders tightly staring him straight in the eyes as his body quaked slightly.

"W…what did you just say?"

"She's dead, Lloyd! Fala died on the way to Loc Lac, and it's my fault!" he wailed, tears streaming from his eyes. "T-there was a monster attack… some giant green monster… i-it attacked our caravan… I tried getting her to safety, Lloyd, I did! B-but… then it…"

The man reached over and pulled the left side of his robe away, and Lloyd's eyes further widened in horror. Zack's left arm was gone. All that remained from the shoulder down was a short stump of a limb wrapped in white bandages.

"It… It got me, and… and she ran off to distract it while one of the hunters pulled me away… I told her not to go! I did! S-she just didn't listen… She wouldn't listen! B-by the time the other hunters caught up with her… it was too late… T-this was all they brought back…"

Lloyd wordlessly watched as Zack reached behind him and pulled out a blue ribbon stained in several spots with dark patches of blood. He recognized it almost immediately. He had gotten her that as a gift a few years ago. It was her favorite. Fala often used it to tie her hair back. He thought he could still see a few strands of her dark hair stuck to the fabric…

Zack placed the ribbon in Lloyd's open palm before another bout of sobs erupted from his throat and he once again embraced the photographer out of sorrow. Lloyd didn't even respond. He couldn't pull his eyes away from the ribbon in his hand. Not even as he felt tears welling up in his own eyes. Not even as his vision began to quake, and his breaths came quicker and quicker. Everything felt cold, yet something burned and seared him within, a pain like he had never known welling up inside of him. Everything just seemed to fall away as he lifted his head skyward and let out a long, grief stricken shout.

He didn't know how long he stood there, screaming the pain of his loss away. Nothing else even mattered right now. He didn't care that Zack was still clutching to him, letting his own grief at the loss of their friend spill out. He didn't care that Selipa had come up to him and embraced him in an effort to comfort him. He didn't care that Rosa offered words of condolences after she was over the shock of what she had just learned herself, or that she tried to shake him out of his state of grief.

His beloved was gone, and there was nothing he could do about it.

He collapsed to the ground and slumped up against the wall, clutching at the sides of his head, hoping and praying that this all was just a horrible nightmare. He prayed and prayed and prayed, yet somehow he knew that this was real. It was just like one of the visions the Alatreon had assaulted him with for countless nights, tormenting and mocking him over how powerless and weak he was, that he wouldn't be able to save her…

There was a slight ringing in his ears for a moment before a thunderous voice filled his head, and he was dimly aware of Zack freezing up and glancing around at the same time.

 **Humans! The time has come for you to suffer for your pride! Panic! Wail! This city will be razed to the ground!**

Lloyd barely even responded to the dragon's call. What did it even matter. After all this time, after this entire journey spent looking for Zack and Fala… Had she been dead this entire time? Had Zack been missing his arm since before Lloyd even awoke? Had… had that dragon _known_ about this?

The Alatreon. This was all because of the Alatreon. It wasn't Zack's fault, it was that _fucking_ dragon's doing. Lloyd felt his sorrow and despair slowly meld into hatred and fury, all of it directed at the black dragon. Soon, that was all that left. Pure, unbridled rage that wracked his body to its core. This was a fury that he'd never known for his entire life, yet now it had completely consumed him. He wanted revenge.

 **Weep, humans!** the dragon's voice echoed in his mind. **Cry out in misery! Know that the time has come for your end, and there is nothing you can do to stop it! Your arrogance and pride has led you to your fates, and there is nothing you can do to stop it! Despair! Despair! Lay down, and let death overtake you!**

He recalled the images of the Loc Lac Tower the dragon had sent to the Lost. It was going to attack there. He knew it would. His eyes snapped open, and he quickly clutched the handle of his katana with a grip tight enough to render his knuckles a sickly white color. He shot up from where he was sitting, completely ignoring the concerned shouts from his friends as he ran towards the exit of the alley, making a sharp turn before sprinting off towards the tall structure in the distance.

He felt the Alatreon's presence towards the center of the city. Some feeling, some primal instinct within him told him so. Even from there, he could see the black creature sweeping over the city, razing the ground with fire or lightning or giant shards of ice. Yet even when it disappeared from view, he knew exactly where it was. And he would find it. He ran and ran and ran, never once thinking about how far he had run, nor how suicidal charging towards the flames spewing from the dragon's mouth was, nor that his friends might have been mere steps behind him, shouting and begging him to stop.

"I don't fear you! You bastard of a dragon! I'll kill you if it's the last thing that I do!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, and perhaps through his mind too. He didn't know how he did so, but he wanted the Alatreon to know that he was coming for it. "I will _never_ let you get away with what you've done, not until you or I are _dead!_ "

The dragon landed on the street with a heavy crash that shook the earth, roaring into the sky in a display of power and superiority as the buildings around it crumbled. He didn't feel even a twinge of fear as he continued his mad rush towards the Alatreon, his only thought being 'kill'. That single thought, that one idea drove him onwards, onwards into what very well may be the end of his life.

As he neared the dragon, it turned to face him. A look of recognition came to its eyes, perhaps even amusement. He didn't care. He'd cut those eyes out of its accursed sockets.

With a ferocious cry, a shout that contained all of his pain, all of his anger and rage, all of his emotions, he leapt at the Alatreon, out of his mind but with his blade in hand.

* * *

 **Author Notes:** **Please review! Sorry this one was a week late, last weekend was a little busier for me than I thought it would be.**

 **Well, that was quite an eventful chapter, huh? So I _miiiight've_ been lying about the plot to all of you. Just a little, teensy tiny bit. I'd been planning Fala's death since the story actually began, and the idea only got further cemented as I continued to write out each of these chapters. I'll admit, I was a little iffy about having her die instead of Zack though. The original plan was for one of them to have died, and I settled on Fala when I realized it would be much more emotionally impactful, since he's been going on and on about how loyal he is to her for the last four chapters. You didn't think this was going to be a happy story, did you? Lloyd certainly wouldn't think so.**

 **I'll say that I didn't even tell Gecko about that twist until he read it for himself, and I had to come up with quite the series of lies to prevent spoiling this. See, I realized while drafting up this story that, while it had its lighthearted moments, the world of The Lost Civilization almost never works in the favor of the protagonists. Things happen that are out of their control all the time. As I put it to Gecko "Shit seems to go wrong a lot". That's how Nat lost her legs, it's how Jacob got killed by a Rathian, and it's how Fala met her end by the stubby little hands of a Deviljho (bet Lloyd regrets calling them giant pickles now, huh? …Too soon?). Hell, it's how the Lost even ended up in Theron in the first place.**

 **Of course, as to be expected, Lloyd does not win his confrontation with the Alatreon. At all. He actually goes down faster than he did in chapter one since he has no sense of self-preservation, or at least less of it than he did back then, and he nearly dies from his injuries. Why do I say this? Well, it's to let you all know that there's going to be an epilogue chapter too! C'mon, did you really think I wasn't going to make another short story seven chapters long?**

 **During the timeframe of Lloyd and Siefeld's fight in the alley was when Lynn stabbed Zhanin at her tavern. I always found it a little odd that he didn't have someone who was specifically supposed to keep a closer eye on Zhanin and act as his "secret service" if you will, who was specifically supposed to protect him from threats like giant bartenders with giant knives. So, I got to thinking, what if he DID have a guard, but that guard was otherwise occupied at the time? Then it could be inferred that because Zhanin's guard detail was lacking a significant figure that could have ensured his survival otherwise, Lynn had no trouble landing the killing blow on him. So Lloyd indirectly got to help kill Zhanin! Three cheers for stuff! For those wondering, Siefeld's name is pronounced Zee-Vehld, as it takes some cues from Germanic names.**

 **Also, in the vein of The Master Corps, there actually was a song I used to help write the fight scene to. This one was Lost by Avenged Sevenfold, which was totally not at all intentional on my part. (Spoiler alert: it was.) The actual "theme song" of Driven was also by that same band, and the song's title is Unbound (The Wild Ride). Given them a listen sometime if you'd like!**

 **And, lastly, I think I'll reveal something that I have been dying to know since I started writing this story, and hopefully, you all have been too. By word of the original author of The Lost Civilization himself, dashboardgecko, The Lost Civilization: Driven is CANONICAL with the events of TLC!**

 **Playing: Super Smash Bros. 4, Fire Emblem Fates, MH4U**

 **Watching: Noragami, Game of Thrones (Totally not the inspiration for named character deaths. Spoiler alert, that's actually true)**


	7. Chapter 7

**The Lost Civilization: Driven**

 **By: Thomas A. Hawk**

 **Edited by: dashboardgecko**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Monster Hunter. The rights of the game belong entirely to Capcom. This is a fanwork taking place in the setting of The Lost Civilization, another fanwork of the Monster Hunter games. The world and its characters, aside from those newly created for the sake of this story, are property of dashboardgecko**

* * *

Chapter 7- The Renewal

 _Several years after the death of the Alatreon…_

"You sure that's the place?"

"From what the townspeople said, yeah. The owner of Geisel Sundries lives there with her husband. Sure is out of the way…"

"They've been trying to keep a lower profile, I guess."

"Doesn't really surprise me. They never sounded like the glory-hogs some of you hunters make yourselves out to be, eh, Rosie?"

"You're making it seem like we don't earn that glory, cutie. Don't you remember the story I told you about that Agnaktor I fought last month? Or do you need a refresher?"

"Heh, you know I remember 'em just fine. You make it a point to tell me all about 'em anyways. Multiple times, too."

Lloyd stared ahead at the house before them. It was a nice, cozy looking home, fit for a small family at best. It stood close enough to the town that it wasn't a complete chore to travel between the two by foot, but far enough that the place seemed relatively uninvolved with the going ons of the nearby village. The structure sat at the top of a small hill, giving it a very quant feel. He'd probably have taken a picture if he had his camera on him.

"…Do you guys mind waiting back at town for me? It shouldn't take too long."

"Are… you sure you don't want us to stay?"

"Yeah… I think this is something I'd prefer to do on my own. Don't think they'd appreciate a full group knocking on their door either."

"C'mon Sel, there's no point arguing with the guy. This was his idea anyways, so let him do what he thinks he needs to do."

"Oh… Oh, alright… We'll be waiting for you at the tavern. I'll make sure these two don't get into any trouble. Take your time out here, okay?"

"Sure thing."

Lloyd watched as Selipa, Rosa, and Zack began to make their way back towards the small settlement known as Perir Town off in the distance before returning his gaze back towards the Geisel's house. He let out a short sigh before ascending the hill towards the house, supporting his bad leg with a three foot long cane, the head of which was decorated with a silver bird's head. He'd been a little slower ever since the Alatreon's attack on Loc Lac and his near-death at the dragon's talons, but now, he just considered himself lucky to even be alive, especially after seeing what had actually happened to the city after waking up several weeks after the attack. At the time, though, he'd been… preoccupied with other things.

It didn't take too long for him to crest the hill and come to a stop before the house's door. The wood was scratched and jagged in several spots, like something sharp had been dragged across it several times, probably by accident. He lightly rapped his knuckles against the door, hearing a few footsteps come from somewhere within the house, and after a few moments the door opened, revealing a noticeably pregnant woman of average height with light brown hair.

"Can I help you?" she asked with a quizzical look. "You're not from the carpenter, are you? You don't look like you're delivering anything..."

"What? No, I'm… not here about any business stuff," Lloyd said in reply. "You're Ellie, right? Or do you prefer Eleanor?"

"Yeah, I'm Ellie. Or Eleanor, I don't really mind either way. And you are?"

"I'm Lloyd. Lloyd Tyrfen."

"Tyrfen…? That's… familiar. Do I know you?"

"We met once. A long, long time ago. That's beside the point though," he continued, twisting the bottom of his cane in the dirt below. "I was wondering… is your husband home? Is Levin here?"

"Yeah, he-" Ellie cut her words short, her gaze sharpening into an untrusting and scrutinizing look. "Why?"

"I… was hoping to talk with him about something."

"He doesn't really like unannounced drop ins like this, Mister Tyrfen. Neither do I, for that matter. If you're looking for a story or you want to meet the 'famous hunters' or you want to thank us or… something else, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave. We live out here for a reason: we like our privacy and try to keep it. You want to talk to Levin about old stories, try and catch him at the tavern one of these days, but even then you'll be lucky to get anything out of him. Now if you'll excuse me-"

Ellie made to close the door then, but before she could, Lloyd stuck the base of his cane between the frame and the door, keeping it open just a crack.

"Wait, please… It'd be a lie to say that some of what you said isn't the reason I'm here, but there's more to it than just that. Much more. But… I just wish to talk with you both a little."

Ellie gave him a sour look through the crack of the door, but looked down at his cane, then back into her house for a few moments, and once more back to him, this time with an ever so slightly lighter expression.

"…I'll consider it, but on one condition. You tell me where we met before first."

"It's not anything really special. Your father hired me to take your family photos back… back in our time. The tip you all left me helped me get some new equipment for my business. You… also laughed at me when I knocked my head against the ceiling."

"Did I…? How can you remember that? Even without the crystals, that would've been at least… maybe eight years ago, before the attacks started..."

"The wait was a little shorter for me, but I… well, like I said, your father's tip really helped my business along. Plus, you had a rather nice home. There was a painting above the fireplace I used as a background for all of you. Your parents were on either side of you for that shot. That was the one they liked the most, actually… Probably because I spent so much time trying to get the lighting right."

"I… Hmm. It sounds familiar, but still… I think I'll have to ask dad about it just to be sure."

"Daniel, right? He runs the printing shop in Perir." Ellie's expression shifted slightly at his words, and she opened the door a little more to get an easier look at him. He breathed a short sigh of relief before pressing on. "I live in Nastre, so word of Geisel Printing wasn't too hard to catch, considering how big a deal it is. And… well, I recalled 'Geisel' being your family's last name. So, I went to your father and asked if he could point me in your direction. It took some effort, but... Well, here I am. He says hello, by the way."

"That's… How do you remember a single surname, of all things?"

"If there's anything I remember from our time, it was my job, and the people who showed me kindness. Please Ellie, I know you and your husband wish for your privacy, and I'm truly sorry to be hassling you like this, but… I just need to talk with you both. I'd be thankful for just five minutes, really."

"Well… Alright, fine. Come on in."

Ellie stepped to the side, and Lloyd made his way into the house after making a grateful bow towards her, glancing around at some of the decorations on the walls. It was about as cozy on the inside as it seemed on the outside. The brown-haired woman led him down the hall and into a small sitting room, where Lloyd saw a man with darker, rugged brown hair, sitting with his legs propped up on a short table. He had a very muscular build befitting a monster hunter, though curiously his right arm and leg seemed a touch thinner beneath the sleeves and pants than the left. The right side of his face was covered with some sort of half-mask as well, leaving only a single brown eye visible to him. He glanced up at Lloyd and raised an eyebrow before turning towards Ellie.

"Who's this?" he asked, nodding towards Lloyd. "Someone from town?"

"No Levin, this is Lloyd. He said he wanted to talk with us about a few things."

"Sorry for the interruption," Lloyd said, extending a hand towards the hunter. "I don't mean to stay too long."

Levin studied Lloyd for a moment, glancing once at his wife before reaching forward to shake his hand. His gloved hand was slightly cooler than Lloyd had been expecting. He didn't mention it, though, instead lowering himself into a chair opposite the hunter while Ellie took her place beside her husband.

"You will not believe how hard it was tracking the two of you down," Lloyd began, glancing between them. "I guess that's a good thing though. If it wasn't, you'd probably have fans knocking on your doors every day."

"That's the idea. It was bad enough in Boma, and that was a small village, not like Perir," Levin said. He motioned towards Lloyd's cane. "You have any trouble getting up here?"

"No, it wasn't too rough. My leg isn't really that bad, but it gives me trouble after a while without some support. Plus, I always wanted a cane sword, so it gave me an excuse to have one."

Levin digested the words for a moment before nodding. "That's as good a reason as any, I guess… How exactly _did_ you find us though? The Guild and most of our friends in town wouldn't tell people where we live just like that. So if you figured it out… then others might too."

"Like I told Ellie, it's actually kind of simple. I've been trying to find you two for… a couple years now I'd say. The entire time I was asking for Levin or Ellie, and I kept getting the 'dropped off the face of the planet' response. You two are really well known by your first names. But… then I remembered Ellie's last name, which her father kindly decided to put up on the front of his printing business. It was easy for me to connect the dots from there, but I don't think it would be that simple for anyone who doesn't look for your last name."

"You knew Ellie?"

"Barely. I took pictures for the Geisels back in our time, nothing else. But I suppose that's enough about how I got here… I guess I'll be frank: you two are the ones that slew the Alatreon, right?"

"Yes, but… if you're asking for a story about the hunt-"

"I'm not interested in that, to be honest," Lloyd cut in with a wave of his hand. "I was wondering… did you have a link with the Alatreon? Like a… mental connection or something?"

"Yeah, but most Lost did. Especially the ones in Loc Lac during the riots."

"But yours was a little stronger than that."

Levin nodded slowly. "Unfortunately."

"What… what was it like?"

Ellie gave Levin a concerned glance while the hunter shifted uncomfortably in his seat, glancing towards his right arm before returning his gaze to the photographer.

"Probably as bad as you can imagine, and then a little worse, I'll tell you that much. But why do you want to know?"

"It was painful, wasn't it?" he asked, feeling his grip tighten on the head of his cane as he turned his gaze to the floor. "Having that dragon tormenting you without really having a way to fight back… Never really knowing when it was going to happen next. Fearing _when_ it would happen next."

Levin was quiet for a long moment, frowning as he stared down at his own hands. "I… yeah. Yeah, that's… that's just about the jist of it. How do you-"

"Levin, first off, I just want to say thank you," Lloyd said, closing his eyes and taking a long breath. "It was because of you that I didn't have to do what you did on that mountain."

"What do you mean?" Ellie asked.

"The Alatreon… it didn't just single Levin out. It targeted other Lost too. Ones who… who were supposed to take Levin's place if he died. Ones who were supposed to keep its game going a little longer, you could say. And… I was the first one the Alatreon picked after you."

"You… you were? I see. I knew… I know the dragon said that once it was done with me it would… it would move on, pick out another Lost and start the cycle over again. Someone like me, who had enough rage and hate in them to…" Levin paused, looking up at Lloyd. "But I didn't know it already had someone in mind. I thought that… I thought it would've just picked someone out at random."

"It probably was random. I don't know how many others there were, just that I was next. As you can probably tell, I'm not nearly as impressive as you are. I could hardly use a hunter's short sword, and you were swinging around one of those giant great swords earlier on in your career, right? And I hear you use the switch axe now, which probably isn't any lighter. Point is… I know I'd never have lasted if it had fallen to me. So thank you for making it so that I never had to."

"Oh, jeez, how many times… Look, just because I was the one who finished- Hold on. The way you were talking about the bond earlier… If you were the Alatreon's next target, then… did you…?"

"I did. There were a few weeks that it enjoyed mentally torturing me to vent its anger. You were really good at pissing that thing off, huh?"

Ellie winced at the words, and Levin's expression shifted slightly as well. Clearly they were both very familiar with that nightmare... He didn't blame them at all for not saying anything though. Even now, some of the images the dragon had sent him all those years ago were still fresh in his mind. Some more than others. Even Lloyd didn't want to bring up those painful memories again. Still, he couldn't stop now. After he had said those words, an uncomfortable silence had hung in the air. He had to get this all off his chest while he had the chance.

"It threatened the lives of my friends- both my old ones whom I spent my first few weeks in this world searching for, and the new ones I made on the way. It… it had some kind of sick pleasure in trying to make me buckle under the weight of those threats. I couldn't tell anyone I was traveling with about it, or else the dragon would come and kill us all. I guess it was so ticked at you that it was trying to regain some kind of control with the next best thing..."

"You make it sound like it was hard. It was like a child throwing a tantrum. I told it I didn't want to play its game by it's rules anymore, and it… well. But if it did that to you, why are you thanking me of all things? Most people in a situation like yours would hate me for what happened, would be out for revenge or something like that… You wouldn't be the first."

"Levin…"

"Ellie, you know what I mean… The Alatreon was at its worst when I told it I wasn't going to try and fight it anymore. It didn't speak to me for months. That's when it probably went after Lloyd…"

Before they could argue the details, Lloyd let out a short cough to gain their attention.

"Honestly, I was angry at first," Lloyd admitted. "I wished that you could've taken the brunt of that thing's fury instead so that it would've just left me alone. But… you've had your fair share of hardships too. What I had to deal with was just a fraction of the shit the Alatreon probably put you through. You'd been dealing with it for years, and I just had to for a couple weeks. I didn't have much room to complain.

"Besides… Back in Loc Lac… I was there when the Alatreon attacked too. I was one of the first to charge the thing, because… because I was angry. I was furious, in fact. So much of what I had been working towards since the day I woke up in his world had been ripped away from me, all because of that dragon… It ruined my life. It took so much from me… And it left a scar to remind me of that."

He undid some of the buttons on his shirt and pulled the cloth down a short ways to reveal a portion of one of two long, ropey scars running diagonally across his torso and abdomen from where the dragon's claws had torn into him. The two winced slightly at the sight, but he knew they had likely seen worse wounds than that.

"I was so angry that I forgot about everything else that mattered," he continued as he buttoned his shirt up again. "Everything the Alatreon _hadn't_ taken from me. I spent so long being so angry… And I never really knew that I was just mad at myself the entire time. I was weak. I was afraid. I… I couldn't protect the people I'd wished to keep safe for my entire life. I'm tired of it all. I'm tired of being angry, Levin. Least of all at you."

"You sound like you've had a really rough go of it, huh…" the hunter mused after a few moments of silence. "I know what it feels like to be that angry too. I eventually came to terms with things, and I'm lucky I managed not to lose anyone I loved, but… hah, that only led me to turn my back on the Alatreon, which led to… well, you know the rest. Guess we're similar in that regard, if nothing else."

"I had a feeling we were," Lloyd replied with a very slight smirk. "I guess the Alatreon must've had a type or something."

"So… you lost someone close to you during the attack on Loc Lac then?" Ellie piqued in.

"No, and that's what made it so frustrating for me… She died before I even came to in this world. I… I won't bore you to death with the details o-over what happened, more so for my sake than anything…" The two nodded solemnly, and Lloyd wiped his eyes quickly before continuing. "I just thought… I thought she would be there at the end of the road. That somehow things could go back to the way they were before, or at least something like it. I… it's a pain that doesn't go away easy. Cuts close up, bones heal, but that? It never really stops hurting. The pain of truly, actually losing someone you love, and never being able to see them again… Never even having the chance to say good-bye, or to do anything that might have saved them... That's a pain no one should ever have to feel."

"That's a lesson I've learned the hard way myself," Levin nodded, glancing quickly towards Ellie.

"I sort of figured as much, so my apologies if I was just being redundant. I just felt like I had to say that. But anyways, I've said what I wanted to say, so I should probably get going…"

"You're leaving already?" Ellie asked. "You've only been here a few minutes… I may not have been very welcoming, but you can stay for a bit longer…"

"I appreciate the sentiment, but I have some people waiting in town for me," Lloyd replied as he pushed himself up with a light grunt. "I should really be getting back to them. Thanks for the offer though. We'll probably be in town for another day or two, so maybe we'll see each other again. I hope everything goes well for the both of you."

The pair saw Lloyd to the door, waving as he left the cozy little house and began to make his way back towards Perir Town. Before he was more than a few yards away from the door, though, he stopped and turned around once more.

"I almost forgot to mention, I set up a business of my own in Nastre. Tyrfen Studio. If you ever need a picture taken, maybe a photo album of some kind… Feel free to hit me up anytime. You won't be disappointed."

With that, Lloyd turned back towards the town in the distance and began to make his way back through the grassy fields and hills. It felt like a heavy weight had finally lifted from his shoulders, one that had bogged him down for years now. And now that he had, there was one more thing he felt he needed to do…

* * *

 _A couple weeks later…_

The mountains of Nastre were a welcome sight for Lloyd as he and the others rolled into town. The journey home had been pretty uneventful, save for the large airship they had seen soaring overhead a few days before. To them, it was more of a 'welcome home' sign than anything.

After climbing down from the wagon, he told the others he was going to head out of town for a short while. Normally he would stay and help unload the wares Selipa kept there, despite her insistence that he shouldn't put much strain on his leg, but this time he felt he couldn't really wait. He finally felt some clarity in his mind, like a sense of calm he hadn't known in years. It was because of this clarity that he needed to go now.

He made his way out of the gates and walked a short ways into a nearby clearing, one that was surprisingly lush for terrain as tough as the mountains of Nastre. Colorful flowers bloomed in several places, and a few Kelbi often grazed here as well. At first they would bolt whenever he came here, but after a long while they had grown accustomed to his visits, and would merely eye him as he walked towards the square stone marker towards the back of the clearing.

He had visited the grave many times before. Maybe even too often. He couldn't really help himself. He felt like there was something he could have done to save her, even when there just wasn't any way he could have. Fala's death was something that was out of his control, and it had infuriated him for so long... But not now. Not anymore, at least.

Lloyd grunted lightly as he knelt before the headstone, lying his cane beside his leg as he stared intently at the words etched into the rock's surface. He had read them so many times now that they had been etched into his memory; for years they had flashed into his vision whenever he closed his eyes, acting as much of a reminder of what he had lost as the scars on his chest did.

'Here lies Fala Wakis  
A great friend to many  
A hero to some  
A loss grieved by all  
May she rest in peace'

He let out a short sigh and rested his hand atop the grave before he began to speak his mind.

"Sorry I haven't visited in awhile, Fala. The trip took a little longer than I expected. Hope you aren't too mad that I was late. I finally managed to track Levin and Ellie down like I told you before. I'm glad I got word of her sundries shop, or else I might never have been able to locate them. I still can't believe they were that close this entire time… It's amazing how easy it is to disappear without much of a trace nowadays, I tell you.

"Zack's doing alright. He's still complaining about his arm- or lack of one, I suppose- but what can you expect? It's a miracle he doesn't complain more. You know how he is. He and Rosa are still getting along pretty well too, which... I'll be honest, I really didn't expect them to last this long. Considering Rosa's track record and Zack's... Zackness, I thought it'd be done and over within a month. I'm sure if we had made a bet over this when they started, you'd have won by a mile. You always did know these kinds of things better than me.

"As for me... I feel a lot better after that talk with Levin and Ellie. I didn't even really know what to expect at first, let alone what I was going to say, but it just sorta came to me as I spoke. Kinda glad they let me say my piece at all. For once, I feel like... Well, like there's a big weight off my back. Levin was probably the only one who could actually understand what I had dealt with... Perhaps not the pain of it actually coming true, but still, I don't truly know him that well. But hey, being able to actually meet the guy who slew the Alatreon also means I win our old bet. Remember? Whoever meets a celebrity first wins a night of drinks from the loser. I… guess I'll let that one slide, though. I've had enough alcohol to drink over the last few years anyhow…

"So, m-my studio is still doing pretty well. I've already gotten a few requests from the Guild to try and get some pictures of monsters to use for ecology books, and a couple letters came in asking about apprenticeships too. Who would've thought, right? A local craftsman helped me put together a working camera prototype too. I'll admit, it's a really crude design, and I used to really hate working in the darkroom- digital always seemed so much easier- but there's a sort of charm to it all too. I'm pretty excited to see this thing take off... Silas' airship company seems to be at least. Pun intended.

"Selipa agreed to help out with securing the supplies I need for cameras and developing film. I know you probably hate how much I bring her up, but I hope you can forgive me for it. She's been a real good friend to me, y'know? ...alright, so maybe that isn't entirely true. I do like her. A lot. Might seem kinda dickish to say, but I'm glad that 'curse' of hers has kept her from getting with anyone else while I was moping around all this time… Heh, I probably seem like the biggest moron in the world right now, huh? Talking with the first love of my life about a potential... probable second. It's not like you don't know about all this already though. I've been so busy missing you that I never even attempted to find someone else.

"…It's been years since you died, and not a day has gone by where I haven't missed you, Fala. But... you've been there for me this whole time, haven't you? I never really believed in supernatural mumbo jumbo like that, but for some reason I get the feeling you've been helping me through this however you could. Maybe even since the day I awakened into this world... And maybe in helping me find something- someone- that could actually make me happy again. Or maybe I'm just getting even crazier than I already was. Us Lost are like that, aren't we? I wouldn't be surprised, but… I think I prefer the former, to be honest.

"So... I don't really know how you feel about all of this, but I want to thank you all the same. For everything. I promise, I won't ever forget you, Fala. I have to move ahead now and keep living my life, but that doesn't mean I'll leave you behind. I'll still visit and let you know how things are going on my end, even if you probably see everything that's going on from wherever you are. I'm not really the religious type, but who knows, maybe we will meet again someday. But, until then...

"I'll keep moving forward. And I won't stop moving until that day comes. Just know that the reason I'm so driven now, is you."

Lloyd pushed himself back up, wiping away the fresh tears that had been streaming down his cheeks and taking hold of his cane to support himself as he glanced around. It had gotten a lot later in the day than he realized... Then again, it usually did during these visits.

"I'll see you next time, Fala," he said quietly before turning and heading back towards the town. It took a few minutes for the gates to come into view, and when they did, he saw Selipa, Zack, and Rosa all standing there waiting for his return. He waved lightly as he approached, smiling as the sun began to set over the mountains surrounding the village. The land was cast in a deep orange glow, and long shadows stretched across the ground. The sky was a pallet of colors, orange and red and yellow and pink, while the clouds seemed to frame the sun setting behind the mountains perfectly.

The land, the sky, the village before him, and the people Lloyd cared about standing there waiting for his return… It was truly a picturesque sight, one that would probably make for a great photo, even if it was impossible to capture everything he felt was important to the scene within the lens.

Lloyd was glad he got to see the whole of this one through his own eyes.

* * *

 **Author Notes: Please review! And that's the end of Driven! Certainly a more somber, bittersweet tale than most of my previous stories, despite initial appearances. I set the ending up specifically to leave where they go from there relatively ambiguous, aside from the relationship between Selipa and Lloyd. That one DOES end up working out, and they have a son named Caius not too long after Driven's conclusion. Whether Zack and Rosa work out is left up in the air, of course, but it is implied that this is the longest one of Rosa's many, many relationships, so there's a chance. Rest assured, if Zack has any kids, they would be extremely good friends with Caius. Actually, based on what I came up with for Caius' character, it'd be hard for someone to NOT be friends with him. He's a very nice fellow.**

 **But I'll move away from the shipping stuff now (sorry, been playing WAY too much Fire Emblem for my own good) and onto actual plot stuff. I really wanted Levin and Ellie to make an appearance in Driven beyond just a simple cameo or something, or worse, Lloyd actually doing something to directly help them. This story isn't meant to steal the show after all, but rather tell another tale altogether. So having Lloyd go to them to find some actual closure was the most logical way to handle it. Special thanks to Gecko once again for coming up with the dialogue of those two so I didn't end up getting the characters completely wrong.**

 **Still, Lloyd does get credit for being the guy who actually brought photography back into the world, so I think it would be fair to say that any photographs that appear in Gecko's story were most likely taken by Lloyd or someone working for Tyrfen Studio. I did realize as I was writing this chapter that Nastre is really taking off as a city now, what with having the big airship company and the photography business all operating within its walls, and with the Compound being not too far off either… A lot of factors really came together here.**

 **Anyways, enough about all of that stuff. Tell me; what was your favorite scene from TLC: Driven, my faithful readers? Favorite characters? What were some things you liked, and what were some things you hated? Did you like the plot and pacing, taking into mind that this technically is a short story? Please, tell me all the details; I'd love some input, since it helps me know what to do better next time.**

 **This story has certainly been a breath of fresh air for me, though. I'm used to writing more action based works with those sort of over the top moves and scenarios you'd expect to see out of an anime, but Driven wasn't exactly like that. I actually had to write more realistically, despite taking some very small liberties here and there (I case in point the car crash from the first chapter). It was certainly something I enjoyed, though, especially considering I get the pleasure of knowing that my original characters are running around the world of Gecko's story now, living their lives as canonical characters.**

 **As for my gaming, I'm still playing too much. I just got Twilight Princess HD, and I cannot convey through words how hyped I am for Breath of the Wild. I've also been playing the Monster Hunter Generations demo for a while now, and I'm very excited to hold the full version in two weeks! As if my free time wasn't spent enough already. I am going to try and become more consistent with my TMC chapter releases, though on top of my games and all my other personal projects, it won't be an easy time. I'd like to finish it out by the end of this year though. Reader support would definitely help speed that along, so let me know what you like about my writing or anything else, really!**

 **Playing: SSB4; MH: Generations Demo; Hyrule Warriors legends; Twilight Princess HD**

 **Watching: Game of Thrones, Black Bullet, Noragami, Assassination Classroom**


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